posted 13th November 2025
How Long Does Divorce Mediation Take?
Mediation is considerably quicker than court proceedings. How much quicker depends mostly on one thing: how fast both parties produce the information asked of them at each stage.
The usual sequence
- Initial enquiry and free consultation — within a day or two
- Individual sessions by telephone with each party to gather information — around an hour each
- Joint session by video — in many cases a single three hour session is enough to reach agreement on property, savings, pensions and debts
- Draft agreement drawn up for both parties to approve and sign
- Work begins on the consent order, once the Conditional Order of divorce has been issued
- Submission to the court, which typically takes two to twelve weeks to approve
So the mediation itself is usually a matter of weeks rather than months.
The thing that takes longest
Where a pension is being shared, everything waits on the cash equivalent transfer value.
Providers of defined benefit schemes have three months by law to produce one. In practice it is commonly four to twelve weeks and sometimes considerably longer. Public sector schemes tend to be slowest.
This is the single most frequent cause of delay in a financial settlement, and it sits outside anyone's control.
The practical answer is to request the valuations at the very start, before anything else is discussed, so the wait runs alongside the rest of the process rather than after it.
What else affects the timing
- How complex the finances are — several properties, a business or multiple pensions all add time
- How quickly both parties provide what is asked for
- How willing both are to compromise, which matters more than complexity
- Availability for sessions around work commitments
What speeds it up
- Gather the documents before you are asked: bank statements, mortgage details, pension statements, valuations
- Request pension valuations at the outset
- Separate the points that genuinely matter from the ones that simply sting
- Reply promptly, even where the answer is that you need more time
Why sessions by telephone and video are quicker
No travel, easier to schedule and considerably less tense than sitting in a room with the person you are separating from. Most clients find agreement comes faster this way, and nothing is lost in confidentiality or fairness.
What we do
- Sessions arranged quickly, usually within days of the first enquiry
- Fixed fees quoted before you start
- The consent order drawn up in house, so there is no solicitor to instruct at the end
Get in touch for a free initial consultation, or read more about how the process works.
