Online Mediation
Mediation and MIAMs by Zoom, wherever you live.
Mediating online since 2012
Start Mediation has offered family mediation online since 2012. Stephen Anderson was the first family mediator in the UK to offer online mediation routinely, and has taught many other mediators in the UK and around Europe how to mediate online. He also helped draft the online mediation standards now adopted by the Family Mediation Council, which all family mediators working online must follow.
For many years, Stephen was one of very few mediators working online. Other mediators who couldn’t offer online mediation regularly referred their clients to him.
Since the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, mediating online has become a normal part of mediation, and it’s now an everyday part of our work. Everything we offer in person, we offer online, including MIAMs (Mediation Information and Assessment Meetings).
Who online mediation helps
Online mediation may suit you if you:
- live in a different part of the country from the other person
- live abroad, or the other person does
- don’t live near a mediator
- have a disability or health condition that makes it hard to travel
- need to fit meetings around caring for children or your working hours
- want lawyers or other professionals to join a meeting
What we can help with online
- separation, divorce and dissolution
- finances and property
- children’s living arrangements and parenting plans
- child maintenance
- schooling, and moving abroad with children
- elder and adult family concerns
- disputes over wills and inheritance
- who keeps the family pets
- civil and business disputes
- almost any other problem or dispute
How it works
- Your MIAM. We meet each of you on your own first, by Zoom. We listen to what has happened, explain how mediation works and talk through your options.
- Deciding whether to mediate. If we decide, with each of you, that mediation would be a suitable way forward, we will write to you both together by email to invite you to mediate.
- Mediation meetings. We meet together by Zoom. The mediator manages the meeting so that each of you has the chance to be heard, keeps the discussion focused on the future, and makes sure the language used stays respectful.
- Putting it in writing. When you reach proposals you both agree on, we can write them up and send them to you by email if you want us to. There is a separate charge for this.
What you’ll need
- a laptop, desktop computer or tablet with a camera, propped up rather than handheld (a phone is fine for your MIAM)
- a reliable internet connection
- a private room where you can speak freely
You don’t need a Zoom account. We’ll email you a link, and you click it to join.
Prices
Our prices for MIAMs, mediation meetings and written proposals are on our Pricing page.
Read and download our guide to mediating online
Our free guide, Getting the most from online mediation, explains how to prepare for an online meeting: privacy, setting up your space, Zoom, your internet connection and equipment, with a checklist for the day. There’s no sign-up needed.
What our clients say
My ex-husband and I were living in different parts of the country, however, Start Mediation were able to accommodate us by allowing us to have our sessions on-line. This was instrumental in us being able to move the divorce procedure (Consent Order) forward.
Stephen is very easy to talk with and has a wealth of experience and valuable insight into the divorce process. I can hand on heart say that we would not have reached resolution without Stephen’s help and I heartily recommend Stephen as a professional: fair, accessible, productive and indisputably patient mediator.
Mrs MS, Channel Islands – Online Mediation
My initial telephone contact with START Mediation convinced me to work with them – clear, concise and professional.
The initial MIAM consultation was set up quickly and proved very useful. Elisabet was focussed, empathic, professional, and as helpful as possible given my situation.
She undertook the required follow-up actions efficiently, reporting back to me on progress.
Ultimately, the process was unable to continue because my ex-partner declined the opportunity to participate. Based on my experience, I would have no hesitation in recommending Elisabet.
Mr ML, Suffolk 2018
Ready to start?
Call +44 1473 487427, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, or fill in our MIAM form and we’ll be in touch.