My services
International family mediation
Two countries, sometimes two languages and different expectations: mediation provides a space for dialogue to seek your own agreement. In this role I am a neutral, impartial third party; I do not represent one participant against the other.
Lawyer or mediator, never both: if I conduct your mediation, I will not be the lawyer of either of you, during or after it.
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Three kinds of mediation
- Before any dispute
“Moving together” project mediation
A move abroad, a return, one parent relocating: decide together where the children will live, the time they spend with each of you, travel costs, schooling and the terms of a return. Two two-hour sessions and a memo of the points agreed.
€500 excl. VAT per party (€600 incl. VAT)
Moving together - During or after a separation
International family mediation
Long-distance separation, children’s residence between two countries, cross-border visitation, a child taken abroad, support. An individual meeting with each of you, then three two-hour sessions; co-mediation possible with a mediator from the other country.
€1,000 excl. VAT per party in French (€1,200 incl. VAT); €1,500 excl. VAT per party in English or bilingual (€1,800 incl. VAT)
- With a notary
International property mediation
Assets in several countries: settlement of a matrimonial property regime governed by foreign law, co-ownership (indivision) between former spouses, an estate opened in several countries. I conduct the mediation with a French notary (notaire), who provides the inventory, the valuation and the draft division. Any agreement involving real estate is then executed as a notarial deed (acte notarié).
€1,500 excl. VAT per party (€1,800 incl. VAT), plus the notary’s fees
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Your situation
A voluntary, confidential process in which a qualified, impartial mediator, with no decision-making power, helps parents or spouses who live or plan to live in different countries restore dialogue and find mutually acceptable agreements: children’s residence, parenting time at a distance, important decisions about school and health, maintenance and assets located in several countries.
- Before any proceedingsTo decide together, before a disagreement turns into a conflict: the children’s residence, parenting time, a planned move.
- During proceedingsIncluding in child-abduction cases: mediation runs alongside the proceedings, without ever delaying them.
- After a decisionTo organize its implementation in each country, and adapt the arrangements as circumstances change.
Freedom: you decide to enter mediation and can leave at any time. Confidentiality: what is said cannot subsequently be used before a judge. Effectiveness: an overall, lasting agreement, more readily followed than an imposed decision. Calmer relationships: preserving co-parenting in the children’s interests. Economy: fewer parallel proceedings, translations and delays. Creativity: tailored solutions with other professionals’ support where needed.
Families moving abroad
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Three questions before starting
Before any step, I answer three questions that shape the strategy:
- I
Remotely, in English?
Sessions may take place entirely in English or in French and English, at the office or by video, at times suited to each participant’s time zone. The mediation agreement specifies the working language and prohibits recording. An agreement can be drafted in English; a French version accompanies it for approval by a French judge.
- II
Recognized abroad?
An agreement is useful only if it applies where the children live and the assets are located. Your lawyers draft or review it to check compliance with each country’s law. In France it can be approved by a judge or made enforceable by the court registry when countersigned by lawyers. Within the EU, an agreement made enforceable in one Member State is recognized in the others. Outside the EU, approval is sought in each country concerned through dual approval or mirror decisions. This is planned from the start of mediation.
- III
And your lawyers?
Each of you may be assisted by your own lawyer, in France and in the other country, before, during and after the sessions. As mediator, I do not give legal advice and I cannot act as lawyer for either of you in the same case.
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My approach, applied to international family mediation
“In this role I am a neutral, impartial third party; I do not defend one participant against the other.”
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Two countries, two mediators
Binational co-mediation. I can conduct the mediation together with a mediator from the other country who knows its law, culture and language, as recommended by the Hague Conference on Private International Law. Each parent feels understood by one of us, and the agreement takes root in both countries.
Remote mediation. Videoconference brings together parents who live thousands of miles apart, in each one’s time zone. The mediation agreement prohibits any recording; an in-person session is offered whenever the parent living abroad is visiting.
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How a mediation unfolds
- Initial contact, by a participant or their lawyers
- Contact with the other parent and their agreement to enter mediation
- A mediation agreement defining language, arrangements and confidentiality rules
- An individual interview with each participant by video, lasting 30 to 45 minutes, and with lawyers if needed
- Joint sessions of approximately two hours to establish the framework and issues to discuss
- Drafting the agreement with your lawyers, followed by recognition in each country
Indicative sequence: each case follows its own pace.
An agreement on parental authority (autorité parentale) only takes effect once approved by the court (homologation; French Civil Code, art. 373-2-7). If it concerns a child capable of discernment, it must state how the child was informed of the right to be heard and to be assisted by a lawyer; otherwise, it can neither be approved nor made enforceable (French Code of Civil Procedure, art. 1541-2).
What is said in mediation cannot, as a rule, be used in court (Act of February 8, 1995, art. 21-3; French Code of Civil Procedure, art. 1528-3). Once a dispute has arisen, the time limit for bringing proceedings is suspended during the mediation and resumes for at least six months (French Civil Code, art. 2238).
Where there is violence, coercive control or danger to a child, mediation is not offered. In France: immediate danger, call 17 (or 112); domestic violence helpline, 3919; children at risk, 119.
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I talk about it at conferences
Related lectures and media
- 16 October 2026Amicable methods internationally: France, England and Hong KongIDFP, « Déjeuners du DIP »
- 15 April 2026
- 3 June 2024Amicable methods in international family law: practical approachesLes Avocats de la Paix et Humanéthic, Paris
- 26 November 2022International family mediation: CEMA webinar recordingPodcast / video
- 3 October 2022International family mediation: Paris Bar family commissionCommission ouverte droit de la famille du Barreau de Paris
- 10 March 2022Mediation and separation of international couples: IFOMENEIFOMENE, 93e café de la médiation et de la négociation
A free information meeting.
Alone or together, at my office or by videoconference, in French or English, to understand how mediation works and decide whether to go ahead, with no commitment.