Property mediation is a carefully planned process ensuring that the right information is provided, adequate preparation is undertaken, and space is given to negotiate and consider proposals in mediation. This gives the best environment for success.

The process starts with an individual and confidential Pre-Mediation appointment which gives me time to understand your situation, your concerns, your assets and debts, and your hopes and your dreams for the future. It also allows me to ensure that mediation is appropriate and to provide any assistance and resources that you may need.

Once this appointment has taken place, I will send you information and a list of tasks to complete in preparation for mediation. These tasks involve collecting information to collate your asset pool list, and seeking legal advice for guidance on the settlement.

Once both parties have taken these steps, we meet for a mediation to share information, and I ensure that I provide a calm and focussed process to consider and share proposals. Once agreement is reached, I provide documentation to assist you to finalise your matter legally.

Because I work in a neutral capacity, I am unable to give legal advice to my clients.

I have extensive experience assisting clients with parenting mediations and as an accredited Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner, can issue 60i Certificates if needed. Many of my clients appreciate my assistance with both parenting and property mediations.

If this is the case, let me know at the start of your matter and I will ensure that I cover both types of mediations in our Pre-Mediation session. In these cases, we always proceed with parenting first - partly because the parenting arrangements often inform the property proposals, but also because property often requires a longer period of time for preparation.

It can seem unnecessary to have legal advice before a mediation, but for cases involving property settlements, I require clients to seek legal advice before the mediation for the following reasons:

1. As a neutral party, I am unable to give my clients legal advice.

2. There are elements to the steps for resolution of property settlements that require legal advice for your specific circumstances.

3. Property settlements, once finalised, cannot be altered so it’s really important to get them right the first time.

4. The final test for a property settlement is that it is considered fair and equitable in the eyes of the court. An agreement that is not fair will be rejected.

5. In mediation, it’s important that the process is fair and this can be achieved in part by ensuring that both parties have the same level of support and advice.

Property settlements often take more than one session to be fully resolved. Once the process is complete, if an agreement has been reached on the division of assets, I will draft a Heads of Agreement documenting clearly what you have both agreed is to happen with your property pool.

This document can be taken to one of your solicitors to be formalised as Consent Orders which are filed with the court to finalise your matter.

If you have not reached full agreement, I can document what has been agreed and you may wish to seek further advice about the next steps for you both. You can return to mediation at any time to finalise your agreement.

I offer mediations online and in person, and joint (both parties together) and shuttle (parties separate) and will speak with both of you about the best approach for your situation.

Regardless of client preference, my process for property mediations is to spend a large portion of the mediation in shuttle. I have found that this dramatically increases the level of comfort of my clients and also the likelihood of reaching a resolution.

My complete fees list is provided. The initial Pre-Mediation Assessment appointments are either $350 per party (for either parenting or property) or $450 per party (for both parenting and property).

Mediation fees are $750 per person for 3 hours with the option of additional hours for $250 per person per hour. There may be an additional cost for room hire. Please note that property mediations normally benefit from 4 hours sessions, and often require at least 2 sessions to resolve the matter.

These fees include all correspondence between sessions and drafting documents such as a Parenting Agreement, Heads of Agreement (for property) and/or 60i Certificate (for parenting) after a mediation.

I offer a no charge initial enquiry call to clients - these are around 15 minutes long.

The initial individual Pre-Mediation Assessment appointments are between 1.5 – 2 hours long (depending on whether they are just for property or parenting, or for both). These appointments are held via zoom and can take place after hours during the week to reduce the impact on working parents or during a weekday or Saturday.

Mediation appointments are booked for a minimum period of 3 hours with the option of adding additional hours as needed. These appointments are held via zoom or face to face and can take place on either a weekday or a Saturday.

You can absolutely bring your lawyer for what is called a legally assisted mediation. This can be a really useful arrangement in situations where there are legal questions to be discussed, and you feel that having a legal presence with you will be helpful. My goal is to ensure that the process is fair, so I ask for plenty of notice of this request so that I can work with both parties to ensure that they have a similar level of legal support for the mediation. My goal in mediation is to work with my clients and hear from them directly, but legal support can be very helpful.

An alternative option for mediation is to arrange your session for a time when your lawyer may be available “on call” should an issue arise that you need advice on. I will always ensure that clients are given the time and space to consider issues and seek information and advice when needed during mediation. This can significantly reduce the cost associated with your lawyer attending the entire mediation session.