Non-Court Dispute Resolution (NCDR) is a collective term which encompasses any process that can be used to help people resolve issues without making a court application.
Separating families are encouraged to use NDCR when they do not need court orders to be made, as there are significant advantages in doing so (they almost always save time and stress. Some save a significant amount of money, and allow you to retain control over the outcome). Unless there are special circumstances (for example, domestic abuse) the court will expect parties to have tried some form of NCDR before making an application to court to resolve issues about child arrangements, finance or property.
We have set out below a summary of the most common forms of NCDR, with links to more information and providers if you wish to find out more.
Questions to ask potential providers include:
- Will you be able to help us resolve issues relating to children and/or finances?
- What will it cost?
- How long will it take?
- Can you involve my children in the process?
- What happens once an agreement is reached or the issues are decided?
- What happens if we don’t resolve all the issues? Do we have go to to court or could you refer us to another service?
- What are your qualifications?
| Type of Service | Description of Service | Find Out More or Contact A Provider |
| Mediation | A mediator meets with participants, online or in person, with you together or separately. Over a series of meetings, the mediator facilitates your discussions and seeks to create a pathway to agreement. The mediator is a neutral third party, and can provide you with information about the law and your options. You can have legal advice alongside mediation, and this is particularly encouraged for financial issues. | |
| Hybrid or integrated mediation | Solicitors will accompany the participants during the mediation, either online or in person. There tends to be only one meeting, held when both participants have enough information to feel ready to settle.
The mediator meets with the parties (and if applicable their lawyers) in a series of meetings on the day and can hold confidences. The mediator can thus identify the real issues and obstacles to settlement, where there is overlap between the parties’ positions and/or how any gaps may be bridged. |
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| Arbitrator | This is like appointing your own judge to decide matters. However the process is quicker, as it avoids the delays and practical inefficiencies of the court process. It is also a confidential process. As delays can cause costly setbacks, it can be less expensive than going to court. Both participants must understand when they choose this process, that the decision of the arbitrator is legally binding. It is therefore the only NCDR process where the participants do not agree to a negotiated outcome. | |
| Neutral evaluator | Early neutral evaluation usually involves an independent and neutral specialist family lawyer looking at your situation and providing you with their view as to what a judge might decide. This can be done on paper, in an informal meeting or in a mock-up of a court-style evaluation hearing (in finance matters this is called a private FDR). That view taken by the evaluator is not binding, but it will greatly assist in settlement discussions. | |
| Collaborative law | You would each appoint a collaboratively trained family lawyer. Work is carried out in a series of meetings with participants and lawyers working together in a positive and solution-focussed manner. Everyone signs an agreement preventing the collaborative lawyers from representing either person at court, should the collaborative process break down. | |
| Solicitor negotiation | This is the more traditional approach and is still very common. You each have a lawyer, and they communicate by email and telephone, and may have one or more round-table meetings to assist the negotiations. Sometimes only one person has a lawyer, who then writes direct to the other person. | |
| One lawyer assistance | One solicitor may be able to guide suitably balanced participants during their discussions. The solicitor can give general advice and possibly also an evaluation of how matters could be resolved. The one solicitor cannot give both people tailored ‘best interests’ legal advice, so you remain free to consult your own independent lawyer. |
