A partner in one of the area's largest family law teams which has offices in Wrexham, Llangollen and Oswestry has qualified to undertake Mediation Information and Assessment Meetings (MIAM) and sign FM1 forms.
Nathan Wright, a specialist in family and child law with leading law firm GHP Legal, made the decision to train for MIAM accreditation after recognising a growing need for the service which is as yet under-represented in the area.
MIAMs came into force on April 22nd this year when the government applied new rules in respect of people wanting to apply to the court for a Financial Order or Child Arrangement Order. Such orders can no longer be applied for without the applicant first having had a mediation assessment, with the exception of emergency applications or where there is real evidence of domestic violence or abuse.
"Family mediation can help separating and divorcing couples to sort out disputes in a far less confrontational and also cheaper way than going through the courts" says Mr Wright, "so the introduction of MIAM has brought massive benefits. The downside is that very few law firms are accredited to undertake MIAMs.
"Those firms like GHP Legal that do have accreditation are able to provide a MIAM service both to individuals who do not have legal representation and to the clients of other law firms."
"We understand that the concept of MIAMs and its implications may be confusing, but once a couple has decided to split up it is in their best interests to seek help with sorting out their arrangements sooner rather than later, before the issues become big problems."
