Guide · Mediation billing
Mediation fee agreement payment clauses: five samples to adapt
These five sample clauses cover the payment terms most agreements to mediate leave out: who owes what, when it is due, how it can be paid, what happens if it is not, and whether each party's share stands alone.
They are written for mediators, arbitrators, and parenting coordinators drafting or revising their own fee agreements. They are drafting starting points, not legal advice. Fill in the bracketed placeholders, then review the language with your own counsel against the rules in your jurisdiction. For the reasoning behind each term, read the payment terms that actually get you paid.
Clause 1: Total fee and each party's exact share
A share written in numbers is harder to argue with than a fraction. "$1,800 total, $900 per party" leaves no room for each side to assume the other is covering more, and if the split is uneven, saying so up front settles the question before it becomes an argument.
The mediator's fee is $[HOURLY RATE] per hour, with a minimum of [NUMBER] hours, for an estimated total fee of $[TOTAL FEE]. [PARTY A] shall pay $[SHARE A] and [PARTY B] shall pay $[SHARE B]. If the mediation continues beyond the estimated time, additional time is billed at the same hourly rate and divided in the same proportions.
Clause 2: Due date tied to the session
"Upon receipt of invoice" invites delay. Tying payment to the session, ideally before it, means a share is collected while you still have leverage. Once the session has happened, an unpaid balance is money you may never see.
Each party's share is due as a deposit no later than [DATE], and in any event before the session scheduled for [SESSION DATE] begins. Any balance for additional time is due on the day of the session.
Clause 3: Accepted payment methods
The most common excuse for a late share is logistical: the check did not go out in time. Naming the methods you accept, including a way to pay immediately, removes the excuse and shortens the gap between signing and paying.
Payment may be made by [CARD, ONLINE PAYMENT LINK, OR CHECK]. The mediator will provide each party with an invoice for that party's share and instructions for each accepted method.
Clause 4: What happens if a share is not paid
This is the term most agreements omit, and it is the one that changes behavior. When postponement is written down and initialed, holding the session until fees are paid is enforcing a term the parties agreed to, not making a threat.
If a party does not pay their share when due, the mediator may postpone or suspend the session until payment is received. A party whose non-payment causes a postponement may be responsible for the costs of the delay, including [CANCELLATION FEE OR COSTS].
Clause 5: Several or joint obligation
If each party owes only their own share, a shortfall from one side is not automatically the other's problem. If the obligation is joint, either party can be asked for the full balance. Both are legitimate. The agreement just needs to say which one applies, so nobody discovers the answer during a dispute.
Each party is responsible only for that party's own share of the mediator's fee, and not for the share of any other party.
[ALTERNATIVE, JOINT OBLIGATION: The parties are jointly and severally responsible for the mediator's full fee, and any unpaid balance may be collected from either party.]
The clause sets the expectation. Collection makes it real.
If the agreement says each share is due before the session, each party needs a way to pay exactly that share the moment they sign, without waiting on the other side. For the practices that back these clauses up, read the full guide to collecting mediation fees from both parties.