Mediation only tends to work if both you and your former partner/spouse are committed to use mediation as a positive opportunity to resolve your differences in this way.
If one person is unwilling to proceed with mediation, your mediator will respect that choice but will usually keep the door open to the possibility of mediation taking place, at a later date, if you both subsequently come to the view that you would like to try the Mediation option and the mediator believes that it is still suitable.
For example, it is not unusual for the mediator to see clients back once they have experienced the court process option and discovered how long, costly and stressful this can be.
*Please remember that the mediator can only issue you with a MIAM certificate of attendance within 4 months of you attending the MIAM. After 4 months has passed and you need a MIAM certificate to be able to file a court application you will need to attend another MIAM.
The mediator may recommend that they also offer your former partner the opportunity to attend a MIAM so that they are also given the benefit of understanding their options and the choice of whether they would like to mediate. You never know, they may surprise you with what they want and it may shift your decision about whether to mediate or not.
This all of course assumes that the mediator has not concluded that mediation is not suitable for safety reasons.