Flexible Payment Arrangements

I hate dealing with the money side. I wish I could just do this for free, but I can’t. Your attorney or you should already have selected your mediation date and now you have been directed to this page. If you don’t yet have a date set, the scheduling should be done first.

Or if you need more information, please continue reading below.

Payment details

I hate to deal with financial messiness but payment is due from each side  in accordance with the Agreement to Mediate which will be sent by email to all parties and counsel for electronic signature. Payment is due at least 14 business days prior to the day of your mediation. If payment is not received from each side, or satisfactory other arrangements made by that time, the mediation is subject to cancellation.

Checks should be made payable to:  GUILFORD JONES

NOTE:  The quoted fees are per side, that is each separate party that is not totally aligned with another will pay a separate fee. If parties are represented by the same attorney and are totally aligned, then only one fee will be due from that group.

Mediation fees as of August 2026 (per party).

Mediation fees are charged on a per-party basis. Each separately represented party or side is responsible for the applicable fee.

Tier	Half Day	Full Day
Tier 1 — Standard Matters	$575 per party	$1,050 per party
Tier 2 — Intermediate Matters	$650 per party	$1,200 per party
Tier 3 — Complex Matters	Not available	$1,400 per party

A half-day mediation is ordinarily scheduled for up to four hours. A full-day mediation is ordinarily scheduled for up to eight hours.

The tiers principally reflect the anticipated time, preparation, complexity, and demands of the mediation. Monetary amounts are secondary guidelines and do not determine classification by themselves.

The tier definitions may be found below at tiers. Download the full document here.

An approximate 3% convenience fee is added to credit card payments.

Hosting for in-person mediations and Lunch arrangements for Full Day mediations

Mediations held in-person must be hosted by one of the attorneys at a location satisfactory to both sides. For a full day mediation pnly, the hosting side is asked/expected to furnish a light lunch for the mediator and participants.

Invoicing

When the mediation is booked, an invoice for the applicable fee will be sent to each attorney (or pro se). If the client is to pay the fee directly, the attorney may simply forward the invoicing email to the client but the attorney is asked to diligently follow up with their client as to payment. There are several payment methods available.

Payment Methods

• CHECK: Payment may be made by check (attorney check, not client’s please), cashier’s check, insurance company check, or corporate check payable to GUILFORD JONES at 413 County Road 144, Marble Falls, TX 78654.  The Tax ID number is 74-2622672.
• CREDIT CARD: Credit cards are processed by the Clio.com system. (card data is NOT stored on this site)
• ZELLE: Zelle payments should be directed to GJones@JudgeGilJones.com

Multi-day & other details

Multi-day mediations can be arranged for a negotiated fee by contacting me by phone or email.

Out of town mediations

Mediation beyond Burnet, Blanco, Llano or Lampasas counties is considered out of town. I am happy travel to mediate. The travel charge is an amount per mile (one-way distance from Marble Falls) billed to each side¹, which includes 1/2 of my travel time at a reduced rate of $200/hr plus round trip mileage at the state rate (assumes driving — airfare would be actual ticket cost). You can calculate the travel charge per party (for travel by vehicle) right here with this calculator:

Just input your mileage from Marble Falls (suggest use Google Maps)

Re-scheduling and cancellation policy

We all have to work diligently to find a date when everyone can convene.  If necessary, I will intervene with the Court to request additional time under the Order of Referral for Mediation.  The attorneys MUST consult with their clients prior to scheduling the mediation to insure that the date is available for them.

The date will be treated as a Court setting. I will not reset the mediation except for what would constitute good cause to postpone a trial. Please carefully consider your advance preparation before selecting a date.  Once the date is set, please notify me immediately if you do not think the case will be ready to be mediated on the scheduled date.

If a date has been set, cancelled and reset, and the new date has been cancelled by any party to the mediation, a third mediation date will not be confirmed without prepayment of the full mediation fee from all parties. A date can be held for you temporarily; however, if payment in full is not received ten (10) business days prior to the third confirmed mediation date, the date will be released.  In the unlikely event that a third confirmed mediation date is cancelled, the fee will be nonrefundable.

I do not typically charge for administrative expenses in a normal case. I do not charge a rescheduling fee if the case is rescheduled for reasons which would normally delay a trial. However, this excludes a cancellation for “additional discovery.”

Cancellations due to settlement:

There is no charge if a case settles prior to mediation, provided that I receive notice of the cancellation at least as follows (day of the mediation is not counted):

• Noon 14 calendar days in advance (e.g. noon Monday for a Tuesday mediation in two weeks) – no charge.
• Noon 7 calendar days in advance (e.g. noon Thursday for a Friday next week) – 25%
• Less than 7 calendar days in advance – 50%

Cancellations other than due to settlement:

In the event a case is reset for the convenience of a party, or a party decides to cancel an agreed mediation other than due to settlement, that party may be charged a rescheduling/cancellation fee of an amount up to the full mediation fee for the case. In the event that more than one party is requesting a reset or cancellation, the fee may be divided between all requesting parties. If at least three weeks’ notice is given, there will be no charge assessed so please provide as much advance notice as possible.

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Tier definitions

Mediation fees are charged on a per-party basis. Each separately represented party or side is responsible for the applicable fee.

Tier	Half Day	Full Day
Tier 1 — Standard Matters	$575 per party	$1,050 per party
Tier 2 — Intermediate Matters	$650 per party	$1,200 per party
Tier 3 — Complex Matters	Not available	$1,400 per party

A half-day mediation is ordinarily scheduled for up to four hours. A full-day mediation is ordinarily scheduled for up to eight hours.

The tiers principally reflect the anticipated time, preparation, complexity, and demands of the mediation. Monetary amounts are secondary guidelines and do not determine classification by themselves.

The case types within tiers are merely illustrative and do not represent the only case I mediate.

Tier 1 — Standard Matters

Tier 1 generally applies to:

Family Law Matters

• Divorce cases without minor children when the gross value of the marital estate is less than $1 million, unless the matter presents unusual financial, property, valuation, or other complexity.

Civil, Probate, and Property Matters

• Debtor-creditor disputes.
• Contract disputes.
• Easement disputes.
• Small-estate and probate matters.
• General civil disputes.

Tier 1 ordinarily applies when the amount genuinely in dispute does not exceed $200,000, exclusive of attorney’s fees, interest, and court costs; and the matter does not otherwise present intermediate or complex demands.

Tier 2 — Intermediate Matters

Tier 2 generally applies to:

Family Law Matters

• Cases involving significant conservatorship, possession, child-support, or other issues concerning minor children.
• Cases involving a gross marital estate of up to $3 million.
• Cases presenting moderately complex property, conservatorship, possession, support, reimbursement, or financial issues.

Civil, Probate, Business, and Property Matters

• Contract disputes involving up to $2 million.
• Estate and probate disputes involving up to $2 million or contested capacity, fiduciary conduct, multiple beneficiaries, family history or difficult emotions.
• Business disputes of moderate complexity.
• Land partitions involving two separately represented parties or sides and property valued at no more than $3 million will ordinarily be classified as Tier 2, unless title, valuation, improvement, contribution, access, mineral, survey, or division issues warrant Tier 3 treatment.

Tier 3 — Complex Matters

Tier 3 matters are scheduled only as full-day mediations. Tier 3 generally applies to:

Family Law Matters

• Cases involving a gross marital estate exceeding $3 million.
• Cases involving complex property characterization, tracing, reimbursement, business valuation, fiduciary issues, tax issues, or substantial financial documentation.

Probate, Fiduciary, Business, and Property Matters

• Substantial or complex fiduciary claims, including matters involving contested accountings, multiple beneficiaries, disputed transactions, removal or surcharge requests, or extensive financial records.
• Estate, probate, or estate-division disputes involving more than $2 million and/or contested capacity, fiduciary conduct, multiple beneficiaries, family history or difficult emotions
• Land partitions involving more than two separately represented parties or sides, property valued at more than $3 million, or substantial title, valuation, improvement, contribution, access, mineral, survey, or physical-division issues.
• Complex business, commercial, construction, insurance, or real-estate disputes.
• Multiparty or document-intensive cases.
• Other matters presenting unusual factual, legal, financial, procedural complexity or otherwise presenting complex demands.

Classification of Cases

The monetary amounts and case descriptions above are general guidelines. The appropriate tier depends primarily on the anticipated time, preparation, complexity, and demands of the mediation, including:

• The number of separately represented parties or sides.
• The factual and legal complexity of the dispute.
• The number and nature of the claims and defenses.
• The extent of disputed financial, business, title, tax, or valuation issues.
• The volume and complexity of documents to be reviewed.
• The anticipated preparation required.
• The number of participants and private-session groups.
• Unusual scheduling, travel, or administrative requirements.
• Any other circumstance reasonably affecting the time or work required for the mediation.
• The tiers presented above are merely an attempt to classify the pertinent factor across typical case types.

The mediator may assign a matter to a different tier when its actual complexity or anticipated demands are not accurately reflected by the monetary thresholds alone.

The mediator may require a full-day setting when the anticipated complexity, number of participants, volume of issues, or other circumstances make a half-day setting impractical.

Per-Party Fees and Multiparty Matters

Each separately represented party or side ordinarily pays the applicable fee. Fees are billed to the attorney who may forward the invoice to the party to pay it directly.

Persons or entities represented jointly by the same counsel and participating as a single aligned interest may be treated as one side. Parties with separate counsel, separate interests, or separate private-session requirements will ordinarily be treated as separate parties or sides.

Because multiparty matters vary substantially, the mediator may establish a case-specific fee after considering the number of distinct interests, anticipated private sessions, preparation, and administrative demands. Exceptionally complex or multiparty matters may be assigned to Tier 3 or quoted separately after consultation with counsel.

Additional Preparation

The scheduled mediation fee includes the ordinary preparation and document review reasonably associated with the applicable tier.

If a matter requires substantial additional preparation, unusually extensive document review, review of voluminous financial or business records, or other work beyond that ordinarily included in the scheduled fee, the mediator may charge an additional preparation fee.

Any additional preparation charge will be imposed only after reasonable notice to counsel and the parties.

Additional Mediation Time

If the parties agree to continue beyond the scheduled session, additional time will be charged at $400 per hour, divided equally among the parties unless the parties agree otherwise or the mediator states a different allocation before the additional time begins.

Amount in Dispute

Unless otherwise stated, the amount in dispute means the amount genuinely at issue between the parties, exclusive of attorney’s fees, interest, and court costs.

In family-law matters, the value of the marital estate generally refers to the gross value of the assets subject to division, without deduction for secured debt, unless the mediator determines that another measure more accurately reflects the complexity of the case.

Payment Responsibility

Unless the parties agree otherwise or a court order provides otherwise, each party is responsible for payment of that party’s mediation fee.

(revised as of August 1, 2026)

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Thank you for selecting me to assist you in resolving your dispute.

Footnotes