How mediators charge
Most Texas family mediators charge per party for a block of time, not by the hour. A half day and a full day are the two common blocks, and each party pays its own share.
Charging per party surprises people. It means the figure you’re quoted is your half, not the total for the room.
Our rates
Ours are published rather than quoted on a call. A four hour session is $550 per party. A full day is $1,100 per party.
That includes reviewing what each side sends in beforehand. It also includes drafting the Mediated Settlement Agreement on the day, so you leave with the document.
Attorneys are welcome at any session and are never required. If you bring one, their time is separate from the mediation fee.
What pushes the cost up
Three things, mostly. The number of open issues, the quality of the financial information, and how prepared each side is.
A couple who agree on the children and disagree only about the house will usually finish in half a day. A couple with a business, unvested equity and no recent statements won’t.
The fix for the third one is free. Send your documents in before the session rather than during it.
Why it’s usually the cheaper path
Compare it to what it replaces. A contested case means discovery, sworn inventories, hearings, and sometimes a business valuation or a forensic accountant. Each of those carries its own bill and its own delay.
Mediation doesn’t remove every cost. It removes the ones that grow the longer a case stays open.
Who pays
Each party pays its own share by default. Couples sometimes agree to split it differently, or to pay it from a joint account before the estate is divided. Both are common and neither is unusual to arrange.
A note on cost and pressure
A published rate isn’t only about price. It removes the moment where one side wonders what the other was quoted. Everyone in the room knows the number before anyone sits down.
What the fee includes
Preparation, the session itself, and the drafting of the Mediated Settlement Agreement on the day.
It doesn’t include your own attorney if you bring one, or any appraiser or valuation expert the two of you agree to instruct.
Half day or full day
Choose a half day when the open issues are few and the numbers are already known. Choose a full day when there’s a business, retirement to divide, or a parenting plan to build from scratch.
Booking a half day and running out of time costs more than booking the right block at the start.
How to keep it to one session
- Send your financial documents in before the day, not during it
- Agree in advance who’s bringing what
- Know which items you actually need, and which you would simply prefer
- Have any appraisal or valuation done beforehand
Sessions that need a second date almost always need it because a number was missing, not because the parties were far apart.
See the full mediation page for session lengths and how to book
