How Much Does Mediation Cost?
Family mediation is usually less expensive than going to Court. Moreover, the decision making in your hands and not in the hands of a Judge who never met you and will decide your case based on general principles of law which may not necessarily be right for your family, marriage and separation.
In family mediation, fees are usually, but sometimes not - depending on the financial circumstances of the parties, divided equally between the parties. You can stop the process at any time you think it is becoming too expensive.
In essence, the longer the mediation takes, the more it costs. Mediators ask to be paid at the end of each session. That helps the clients appreciate quickly how much the mediation is costing, and tends to encourage them to be prepared for meetings so that they are cost effective.
The total cost of the mediation is usually impossible to predict. For couples who know what they want, and have already discussed matters and reached agreement on most issues, the cost is less than $1,000. For couples who have discussed little, and disagree about everything, the cost is more than $1,000. (This is still much less expensive than litigation, which usually costs thousands of dollars).
Occasionally only one spouse pays. Usually the cost is shared. Mediators expect payment of their account at the end of each mediation session. We accept Visa, Mastercard, cheques or cash.
We charge based on an hourly rate. The hourly rate charged for family mediation is $225.00, plus GST and disbursements, for any time spent in connection with a mediation, which includes the reading of documents submitted by the parties, preparing documents, attendance on the mediation sessions and concluding work of mediation.
We will ask you to sign a mediation contract that addresses our fees. If legal aid will pay for mediation, we will also accept legal aid in some cases.
