The court will expect you to make a serious effort to reach agreement before starting court proceedings. And you will also be expected to keep trying to reach agreement even once a court case has started.
Before starting court proceedings, you will need to fill in a court form that explains your view on NCDR and whether you have tried it. The court can pause your case (at any point during the case) so you can go to NCDR if the court thinks that is a good idea.
In some cases, the court can make cost orders against someone who should have taken part in NCDR. A costs order is when one person is ordered to contribute to the legal costs of another person.
There are lots of different types of NCDR. The most common are:
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Mediation
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Arbitration
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Neutral evaluation
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Collaborative law
Mediation: This is when a trained mediator tries to help you reach agreement. This usually happens over a number of meetings. The process is voluntary and the mediator can’t force a decision on anyone - you and your ex have to agree.
You can read our detailed guide on mediation by signing up to our free, exclusive resources.
Arbitration: An arbitrator is like a private judge (they can be practising lawyers or retired judges who have trained to be arbitrators). They will charge fees for their time. Arbitration takes place under special arbitration rules. At the end of the arbitration process - which is similar to the court process - the arbitrator comes to a decision which is “binding” on you and your ex i.e. you both have to do what the arbitrator says.
You can read our detailed guide on arbitration by signing up to our free, exclusive resources.
Neutral evaluation: When an independent, qualified third party (such as a retired judge or an independent lawyer) is asked to give their view on what a court would likely decide, this is known as “neutral evaluation”. Usually you and your ex (and your lawyers if either of you have one) and the evaluator take part in a meeting that is similar to a court hearing (but done privately).
The evaluator cannot force you or your ex to do anything, and you do not have to reach the same agreement as the evaluator suggests. The idea is that by receiving this expert evaluation, you and your ex are more likely to be able to reach an agreement, as you will better understand what a court is likely to do.
You can read our detailed guide on neutral evaluation by signing up to our free, exclusive resources.
Collaborative law: Under this process, you and your ex each appoint a collaboratively trained lawyer to represent you. At the beginning, everyone commits to trying to reach agreement without going to court. If you or your ex then do go to court, the collaborative lawyers cannot be involved any more.
You, your ex and your lawyers try to reach agreement through a series of face-to-face meetings. These are called 4-way meetings. It is possible for other professionals such as financial advisers to be included in the collaborative “team” if needed.
You can read our detailed guide on collaborative law by signing up to our free, exclusive resources.
