A MIAM is a confidential meeting of about 45 mins to 1 hour in duration between you and a mediator to find out more about mediation and how this process might help you and your former partner work together in mediation to reach your own outcomes rather than leaving this to a solicitor-led and/or the court process.
The Government wishes to encourage separating families to find out whether mediation is suitable before heading off to court.
In all but exceptional circumstances the law now requires people to attend a MIAM with an accredited expert mediator BEFORE they are entitled to make a court application.
This meeting will be your opportunity to find out how mediation works, ask questions from a mediation expert, decide whether the mediator is someone you can work with and begin to prepare for mediation, if you decide that it is for you.
The mediator will help you decide which options are best of you and your separated family and guide you through to the next steps.
In the resources section to this chapter you will find a two documents setting out the Family Mediation Council’s Guidance and some Standards for MIAMs. You are recommended to read these documents since this is such an important meeting.
If you decide at the end of the MIAM that you do not wish to mediate or the mediator assesses that mediation is not suitable, the mediator will provide you and/or your solicitor with a completed MIAM certificate which you will need to be able to make either a financial court application or a child arrangement application.
For your information only, you will find a MIAM certificate template in the documents section of this chapter.