What happens after a MIAM
Key facts
- After a MIAM there are three broad routes: joint mediation begins, you apply to court, or you pause and decide.
- If your ex declines mediation or it is assessed as unsuitable, the mediator signs your C100 or Form A so you can apply.
- A signed MIAM confirmation is valid for four months; apply later and you will usually need another meeting.
- If court proceedings do start, both parties are normally expected to file an FM5 form giving their views on non-court dispute resolution.
- Most mediated cases resolve within a handful of sessions spread over a few weeks or months.
The MIAM ends and you walk out, or close the video call, with your legal requirement met and a decision forming. What happens next depends on three people: you, your ex, and the mediator whose job it was to assess whether mediation could work. If the meeting itself is still ahead of you, our overview of what a MIAM is and the walkthrough of what happens at a MIAM cover the ground before this page.
Here we map every route out of the meeting: starting mediation, dealing with an ex who says no, the paperwork the mediator signs, the four-month clock on that signature, and the FM5 form that follows you into court if proceedings begin.
The possible outcomes at a glance
Every MIAM ends in one of a small number of ways, and the mediator will usually tell you which applies before you leave. The table below shows each outcome and what it means in practice.
| Outcome | What happens next |
|---|---|
| Both willing, mediation suitable | Your ex attends their own MIAM, then joint sessions are booked, usually starting within a few weeks. |
| Your ex declines or does not respond | The mediator signs your court form and you can apply to court if you choose. |
| Mediation assessed as unsuitable | The mediator signs your form with the unsuitability outcome; court or another route follows. |
| You want time to think | Nothing forces a decision; the four-month validity of your MIAM is the only clock running. |
| A different NCDR route fits better | You pursue arbitration, collaborative law or solicitor negotiation instead; the MIAM still counts if you later apply to court. |
Route one: mediation goes ahead
If you want to mediate, the next step belongs to your ex. With your permission, the mediator contacts them, usually by letter or email, explaining that you have attended a MIAM and inviting them to their own. They meet the mediator separately, the same screening happens, and if both of you are willing and the mediator is satisfied it is suitable, joint sessions are arranged.
Sessions usually last around 90 minutes and are spaced a few weeks apart to allow information gathering between them. Children-only cases often resolve in two or three sessions; finance cases more often take three to five, because financial disclosure has to be completed along the way. Our page on how many mediation sessions you are likely to need sets out realistic expectations, and how family mediation works describes the sessions themselves.
Money help kicks in at this stage too. In cases involving child arrangements, the mediator can apply the family mediation voucher, a government contribution of up to £500 towards session costs. If either of you qualifies for legal aid, sessions are covered for that person, and the first joint session can be covered for both. See the costs section for all the funding routes.
Route two: your ex says no
Mediation needs two willing people, and the law does not compel your ex to take part. If they decline the invitation, ignore it, or attend a MIAM and then refuse joint sessions, the mediator records that mediation is not proceeding and completes the MIAM section of your C100 or Form A. You are then free to apply to court, with your requirement satisfied.
Refusal is not necessarily the end of the story, though. Courts since April 2024 actively press parties about non-court dispute resolution, and an ex who refused without good reason may find that decision questioned at the first hearing, with real costs consequences possible in financial cases. Some people who say no in week one say yes in month three, once court timescales become real. The tactics and realistic options are covered in what if your ex refuses to attend mediation or a MIAM.
Route three: mediation is unsuitable
Sometimes the mediator ends the MIAM concluding that mediation should not happen at all. Common reasons include disclosed domestic abuse where no safe format exists, serious safeguarding concerns, a party who lacks capacity to negotiate, or urgency that genuinely needs a court order. The mediator signs your form recording that mediation is not suitable, and will usually talk through where that leaves you.
Unsuitability is a professional judgement about the process, not about you, and it is deliberately conservative: mediators are trained to decline cases where the power balance means a fair agreement is unlikely. If safety is the issue, our pages on domestic abuse and mediation and when mediation is not suitable explain the thinking and the alternatives.
The signed form and the four-month clock
Whichever non-mediation route applies, the practical output of your MIAM is the mediator’s confirmation on your court form. On a C100 or Form A, an authorised mediator completes the section confirming you attended and recording the outcome category. The signature does not disclose anything you said; confidentiality survives the paperwork.
The confirmation has a shelf life. Your application should be made within four months of the MIAM. Wait longer and the courts expect a fresh meeting, on the sensible basis that circumstances, and the prospects of settling, change. Four months is more generous than it sounds, but people who attend a MIAM and then sit on the decision for half a year do get caught out.
Keep the practicalities tidy: make sure the mediation service has the form signed promptly, keep a copy, and diarise the four-month date. As of 13 July 2026 the court fee is £270 for a C100 and £321 for a contested Form A, payable when you issue the application.
Attending a MIAM does not commit you to court either. A significant number of people attend, take stock of the costs and timescales, and resolve matters by direct agreement without ever mediating or applying. The meeting satisfies the legal requirement whether you use it within four months or not at all.
If court begins: the FM5 form and continuing pressure to settle
Applying to court does not close the mediation question; since 29 April 2024 it follows you in. In most children and financial remedy cases, each party must file and serve a short form called the FM5 before the first hearing, setting out their views on using non-court dispute resolution and explaining why it has not been attempted or has not resolved matters. Judges read them, and thin excuses stand out.
The court also has power to adjourn proceedings to allow mediation or another NCDR process to take place, and no longer needs both parties’ agreement to do so. In financial cases, a party who failed without good reason to attend a MIAM or engage with NCDR risks a costs order against them. In other words, the system keeps asking the settlement question all the way to a final hearing.
Many cases mediate successfully after proceedings have started, running court and mediation in parallel until one route produces an outcome. The FM5’s contents and timing are covered on the FM5 form, and the costs risk on costs orders for refusing NCDR.
If mediation succeeds: making the agreement stick
When mediation resolves matters, the mediator draws up the outcome documents: typically a memorandum of understanding recording what you have agreed, and in financial cases an open financial statement summarising the disclosed finances. These documents are not legally binding in themselves, which surprises people, but they are designed to convert quickly into binding form.
For finances, that means a consent order drafted from the memorandum and sealed by the court, with a £62 application fee as of 13 July 2026. For children, a parenting plan is often enough, with a consent order available where certainty matters. The whole conversion process is explained in our guide to making your agreement binding.
Aisha, from Birmingham, attended her MIAM in January over the future of the family home and arrangements for her son. Her ex, Ryan, ignored the mediator’s invitation for three weeks, so the mediator signed her C100 and Aisha issued her application, paying the £270 fee. Served with court papers and a first hearing date, Ryan changed his mind and contacted the mediation service himself. The court adjourned the first hearing to let mediation run.
Two sessions in March settled the arrangements: alternate weekends, shared school holidays, and a plan for the house to be sold the following year. The proceedings ended by consent, months before a contested hearing would even have begun.
Frequently asked questions
How long after a MIAM can I apply to court?
Your MIAM confirmation is treated as valid for four months. Apply within that window and the signed C100 or Form A is accepted; leave it longer and you will usually need to attend another MIAM first. There is no minimum wait: you can apply the day after your meeting if mediation is not proceeding.
How quickly do joint mediation sessions start after a MIAM?
Once both of you have attended a MIAM and agreed to proceed, the first joint session is typically booked within two to four weeks, depending on diaries and whether financial documents need gathering first. Online sessions are often quicker to arrange. The mediator sets the pace with you, not for you.
Does the mediator tell the court what I said at the MIAM?
No. The mediator’s signature on your form confirms only that you attended and the outcome category, for example that the other party declined or that mediation was unsuitable. The content of the meeting stays confidential, subject to the standard safeguarding exceptions explained at the start of every MIAM.
What is the FM5 form and do I have to file one?
The FM5 is a short form introduced in April 2024 on which each party in most children and financial cases states their views about non-court dispute resolution before the first hearing. If you issue proceedings after your MIAM, expect to complete one, explaining honestly why mediation has not resolved matters.
Can we go back to mediation after starting court proceedings?
Yes, at any stage, and courts encourage it. The judge can adjourn proceedings to let mediation happen, since April 2024 without needing both parties to agree to the adjournment. Agreements reached in mediation during proceedings are usually turned into consent orders, ending the case without a contested hearing.
Sources
- Family Procedure Rules, Part 3, the court’s powers to adjourn for NCDR and the April 2024 amendments, including the FM5 requirement (accessed July 2026).
- Practice Direction 3A, Family Procedure Rules, MIAM outcomes, the four-month rule and mediator confirmation on court forms (accessed July 2026).
- Children and Families Act 2014, section 10, the statutory MIAM requirement the signed form satisfies (accessed July 2026).
- GOV.UK: family court fees (EX50), the C100, Form A and consent order fees quoted as of 13 July 2026.
- GOV.UK: family mediation voucher scheme, the £500 contribution available once joint sessions begin in child arrangements cases (accessed July 2026).
- Family Mediation Council: family mediation, how joint sessions and outcome documents work after the MIAM (accessed July 2026).