Jargon buster
- Cohabitants. Couples who are or have been living together who are not married or civil partners. It includes both male/female and same sex couples.
- Financial disclosure. For mediation to work, you need to tell your partner honestly about your finances. Otherwise the mediation could be stopped by either the mediator, or your partner. Mediators call this financial disclosure. Most services will have forms for you to complete so that the information can be set out tidily. These will either be their own financial information packs or the Mediation Form E
- Initial assessment meeting/Intake meeting. The first appointment at the mediation service that allows you and the mediator to work out whether mediation will be suitable for you. If the service offers legal aid your eligibility will be assessed at this meeting. Some mediation services suggest joint intake meetings that you go to together, but it's up to you whether you want to go together or separately.
- Legal aid. A government scheme to help people with low income and limited savings to pay for legal advice, assistance, mediation and representation.
- Memorandum of understanding/Statement of outcome. A document put together by your mediator at the end of the mediation sessions, setting out your agreement in writing.
- Open statement of financial information. This document is prepared by the mediator and sums up the financial disclosure that you have each made.
- Parental Responsibility. All the rights and duties that go with being a parent. It can be quite complicated working out who has it, or how to get it if you don't have it already.
For more information, see the parental responsibility guides in the Children section.
- Without prejudice. If something is said or written ‘without prejudice’ it means that it cannot be used as evidence in court. It is a particular form of confidentiality. Your discussions with the mediator are ‘without prejudice’, but your financial disclosure is not.
