Divorce Mediators
Separating clients often need more than one kind of support.
Mediation can help them deal with arrangements for children, money, housing and the next stage of life. But while that process is happening, there may also be urgent estate-planning risks that are easy to miss.
Fern Wills & LPAs works with divorce mediators where clients need clear, practical support with Wills, Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs), jointly owned property and separation planning.
We help clients review their circumstances properly now, deal with the immediate risks before the divorce is final, and identify which longer-term estate-planning decisions may need to wait until the financial settlement and future arrangements are clearer.
Why this matters for mediation clients
A client may be separated, emotionally exhausted and focused on the next mediation meeting.
That is understandable.
But separation does not automatically sort out their Will, Lasting Powers of Attorney or jointly owned home.
If a client dies before the divorce is final, their spouse or civil partner may still inherit under an existing Will or under the intestacy rules if there is no Will.
If a client loses capacity during separation, an old Lasting Power of Attorney may still leave the wrong person involved in decisions about money, property, care, medical treatment or life-sustaining treatment.
If the family home is owned as joint beneficial tenants, one person’s interest may pass automatically to the other owner by survivorship, outside the Will.
That is why Will, LPA and property-ownership planning can sit naturally alongside mediation.
The benefit for divorce mediators
For mediators, this is about client care, risk reduction and joined-up professional support.
You may be helping clients work through child arrangements, financial disclosure, housing, pensions or settlement discussions. Estate planning may not be your role, but if it is missed, the client may be left exposed while the process is still ongoing.
A good introduction can help you protect the client relationship without stepping outside your professional lane.
It shows clients that you are thinking beyond the immediate dispute and helping them avoid practical risks that might otherwise be overlooked.
It can also help the wider mediation process. If a client has updated their Will, reviewed their LPAs and understood the survivorship position on the family home, there is less room for avoidable shock, confusion or panic later.
The benefit for clients
Clients benefit because they get practical protection during a period of uncertainty.
A new standard Will can deal with the immediate risk. It can appoint appropriate executors, avoid reliance on intestacy, and say who should inherit if the client dies before the divorce is complete.
A Lasting Power of Attorney review can check whether the right people would make financial, property, health and welfare decisions if the client lost capacity.
A property-ownership check can identify whether the home is owned as joint tenants or tenants in common. Where appropriate, severance of joint tenancy can change the position so each person’s share passes under their Will rather than automatically by survivorship.
This does not decide the divorce settlement. It does not need to create conflict. It simply helps the client avoid an unnecessary estate-planning gap while the wider process continues.
Why mediation and estate planning work well together
Mediation is often chosen because clients want a calmer, more constructive and less adversarial route through separation.
That fits well with practical estate planning.
A Will or LPA review does not need to undermine mediation. It does not need to inflame the dispute. It does not force decisions that belong in the financial settlement.
It simply answers a different question:
What happens if this client dies or loses capacity before everything is resolved?
That question can be dealt with calmly, confidentially and proportionately.
A standard Will during divorce
In an ideal world, every separating client would put a fully developed long-term estate plan in place straight away.
In reality, separation and divorce can be emotional, uncertain and expensive. The client still needs a proper review now. The immediate answer may be a clear, practical, legally effective standard Will that matches their current circumstances and immediate needs.
That can be a sensible route.
The Will deals with the immediate risk. It can revoke earlier Wills where drafted to do so, avoid reliance on intestacy, appoint appropriate executors and state who should inherit if the client dies before the divorce is final.
That does not mean the work is casual or incomplete. The Will still needs to match the client’s circumstances and immediate needs.
Once the financial settlement, housing position, pension arrangements and long-term family structure are clearer, the client can consider whether a more comprehensive estate plan is needed. That might include trust planning, inheritance planning, tax considerations, family provision or longer-term protection for children and other beneficiaries.
Lasting Powers of Attorney during separation
LPAs can be just as important as the Will.
A Health and Welfare LPA can cover decisions about daily care, medical treatment, moving into a care home and life-sustaining treatment. It can only be used when the person cannot make the relevant decision themselves.
A Property and Financial Affairs LPA can cover bank accounts, bills, benefits, pensions, property and selling the home. It can be used once registered, with the donor’s permission, while they still have capacity, or later if they lose capacity.
During separation, the question is simple:
Are the right people still appointed?
If the answer is no, the client should not leave it until the divorce is final.
Jointly owned homes and severance
The family home is often the largest asset. It is also one of the easiest assets to misunderstand.
Many married couples own their home as joint beneficial tenants. In plain English, this means they both own the whole property together. If one owner dies, the home normally passes automatically to the survivor by survivorship. It does not pass under the Will.
That can be a serious issue during separation.
One option may be severance of joint tenancy. This changes the beneficial ownership from joint tenants to tenants in common. Each person then owns a share, often 50/50 unless there is evidence of a different arrangement. That share can then pass under the Will rather than automatically to the other owner by survivorship.
Severance can be bilateral or unilateral.
Bilateral severance means both owners agree to sever the joint tenancy. That is usually the cleaner and less confrontational route.
Unilateral severance means one owner acts without the other owner’s agreement. That can be useful where urgent protection is needed, but it should be handled carefully, especially where mediation or settlement discussions are ongoing.
Severance does not decide the divorce settlement. It does not remove either person’s legal ownership. It changes what happens to each person’s beneficial share if one of them dies before the wider arrangements are resolved.
How Introductions work
The process is simple.
You can give the client our contact details and let them contact us directly.
The client can contact us first and then decide whether they want us to liaise with you.
Or, with the client’s permission, you can introduce us by email so that everyone understands the reason for the introduction..
Client confidentiality remains central. We do not share information with a mediator, solicitor, former partner or anyone else unless the client asks us to.
Where the client gives permission, we can coordinate with you so the Will, LPA and property-ownership planning fits the wider separation process.
Working with New Moon Mediation
Fern Wills & LPAs is independent. New Moon Mediation is independent. We are not part of each other’s businesses.
However, we do believe that good mediation and good estate planning can work well alongside each other.
We have introduced clients to Steven Hagan at New Moon Mediation and have received positive feedback. Steven’s approach is calm, constructive and focused on helping people move forward without unnecessary conflict.
Where appropriate, and where the client gives permission, we are happy to work alongside Steven or another mediator so that the client’s Will, LPA and property-ownership planning supports the wider separation process.
Steven Hagan at New Moon Mediation can be contacted on 07948 372869 or by email at steven@newmoonmediation.co.uk.
What we can help mediation clients with
Fern Wills & LPAs can help separating clients with:
✔️ reviewing an existing Will;
✔️ making a new standard Will to deal with the immediate separation or divorce risk;
✔️ reviewing or replacing Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA's)
✔️ checking who would make health, welfare, property and financial decisions if the client lost capacity;
✔️ checking whether the family home is owned as joint tenants or tenants in common;
✔️ explaining why severance of joint tenancy may be relevant;
✔️ helping clients understand what can be dealt with now and what may need a later review after settlement;
✔️ signposting to specialist legal, financial, mortgage, tax or property advice where needed.
What we do not do
We do not conduct mediation.
We do not act as divorce solicitors.
We do not prepare financial consent orders.
We do not give financial, mortgage, tax or litigation advice outside our role.
Where the client needs another specialist, we signpost or coordinate with the appropriate professional.
Our role is estate-planning led. We help clients put the right Will and LPA arrangements in place, understand the property-ownership risk, and avoid leaving important decisions until it is too late.
Case examples
The separated client with no Will
A client is separated but not yet divorced. They have children and no Will.
They assume that because the relationship is over in practical terms, their spouse will not inherit. That may be wrong.
A new standard Will can deal with the immediate risk before the divorce is final, while leaving space for a later review once the financial settlement is complete.
The client in a long divorce who died before it was finished
A client was involved in a long and difficult divorce. Mediation was not part of the process, and the divorce had not been completed.
He then suffered a heart attack and died before his estate planning had been updated.
The legal and practical result was not what he would have wanted. Assets and personal possessions that he would almost certainly have wanted to go elsewhere instead passed to his wife. The part that would have upset him most was his collection of eight motorbikes. He would have wanted those to go to his best friend and his brother.
This is the kind of real-world risk that makes early Will and property-ownership planning so important. It is not just about tax or paperwork. It can be about the personal things that matter most.
The jointly owned home risk
A separated couple still own the home as joint beneficial tenants.
One client makes a new Will leaving their estate to their children, but the home is still owned in a way that could pass automatically to the other spouse by survivorship.
In that situation, the Will and property ownership need to be considered together. Severance of joint tenancy may be critical.
The client with a serious medical concern
A client had an underlying medical condition and was separating from her husband.
Her concern was not only about inheritance. She did not want her husband to be the main person treated as her voice in a medical crisis, especially if decisions had to be made about serious treatment or life-sustaining care.
A Health and Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney can help address that kind of concern by appointing the right people to make health and welfare decisions if the client cannot make the relevant decision themselves.
This is why LPA planning can be just as urgent as making a Will during separation.
For divorce mediators
If you support separating couples, a Will and LPA introduction can be a useful part of client care.
It helps clients deal with the immediate risk without waiting for the final order.
It supports mediation without interfering with your role.
It gives the client a clearer plan if death or incapacity happens before the divorce is complete.
It also gives you a trusted estate-planning route for clients who need help but do not know where to start.
For clients using mediation
If you are separating or divorcing, mediation can help with the wider conversation.
But it is still worth checking your Will, LPAs and jointly owned property now.
You do not have to wait until the divorce is final. You do not have to wait until every financial detail is settled. You can put a safe, practical plan in place now and review it later when the longer-term picture is clearer.
If you are already working with a mediator, we can work directly with you in confidence. If you want us to coordinate with your mediator, we can do that too.
Nothing is shared unless you give permission.
Read more
For client guidance, see our related article: Divorce and your Will: what changes and what to do.
For mediation support, you can contact Steven Hagan at New Moon Mediation on 07948 372869 or by email at steven@newmoonmediation.co.uk.
Next steps
If you are a divorce mediator and would like a trusted estate-planning route for your clients, Fern Wills & LPAs would welcome a conversation.
You can introduce clients to us directly, give them our contact details, or speak to us first about how the introduction process works.
Client permission and confidentiality come first.
Contact Fern Wills & LPAs for a professional-partner conversation.
