Two women in an office meeting room talking to each other.

Recent changes made to the Family Procedure Rules in April 2024 show that there is a clear push from the Court towards encouraging parties to engage in non-court dispute resolution (NCDR), such as mediation, private FDR’s, arbitration and collaborative law. There is also now the mandatory requirement that parties file a Form FM5: statement of position on non-court dispute resolution before the first hearing, which sets out the parties views on using NCDR. For more information on this and NCDR please read our article.

MIAM stands for Mediation Information Assessment Meeting. This is the first meeting with a qualified mediator to consider whether mediation or other NCDR processes are suitable for you and matters can then be resolved without the need to start Court proceedings.

When do I have to attend a MIAM?

You must attend a MIAM before you are able to issue an application to the Family Court to start financial remedy proceedings in relation to your divorce.

Are there any exemptions to attending a MIAM?

There has recently been an update to the exemptions from attending a MIAM which came into force on 29 April 2024. The current list of exemptions are set out below:-

  • There is evidence of domestic abuse.
  • You have previously attended a form of NCDR within the last 4 months.
  • Bankruptcy.
  • Urgency – for example if there is a risk to life, or if a delay caused by attending a MIAM would cause risk of harm to a child, a significant risk of a miscarriage of justice, significant financial hardship or irretrievable problems in dealing with the dispute.
  • In the time taken to attend a MIAM, proceedings will be brought in another state, meaning that a Court in the other state would be seized of the dispute before a Court in England and Wales.
  • There is evidence of bankruptcy.
  • The application would be made without notice.
  • You are unable to attend a MIAM due to a disability.
  • You cannot attend a MIAM because you are in prison, certain bail conditions prevent you from attending or you are subject to a licence with a prohibited contact requirement in relation to your spouse.
  • You are unable to attend a MIAM via video-link and you have contacted as many authorised family mediators with an office within 15 miles of your home address, and all are not available to conduct a MIAM within 15 working days, or if there are no authorised family mediators at all within a 15 mile radius of your home address.

What happens at a MIAM’s meeting?

The mediator will explain to you how the mediation process works and what a mediation session will look like and they will be able to answer any questions you may have. The aim of a MIAM is to assess whether mediation (or perhaps other forms of NCDR) is appropriate for you and to make sure that you are fully informed before making the decision whether or not you wish to try mediation.

What are the advantages of mediation?

  • It is considerably cheaper than instructing a solicitor and starting Court proceedings.
  • It is a much quicker way to reach an agreement compared to being in Court proceedings.
  • It is much more amicable and less stressful.

Since the recent rule change regarding NCDR, there is much greater emphasis, and risk the Court may adjourn proceedings, for parties to attend NCDR. There is also a possible risk of costs orders made against parties for non-engagement with NCDR.