Jenny from (her agreed share of) the Block: Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck’s mediation settlement

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck have reportedly settled their well-publicised divorce through mediation, with an agreement being reached in September 2024 after their official separation in August 2024. 

The pair married in July 2022, following an almost 20-year separation since they called off their first engagement in January 2004. 

Divorce papers reveal that neither party will be paying the other alimony, or spousal maintenance as it is known in England and Wales. Unsurprisingly perhaps, the documents, which were filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday 6 January 2025, reveal that Lopez will also be looking to drop Affleck from her legal name.

The couple, who have no children together, are now waiting for the judge to finalise their divorce. 

Mediation in England and Wales involves an independent and impartial professionally accredited mediator meeting with the separating couple to discuss their separation or divorce with the aim of reaching an agreement outside the court arena. Mediation can also be very useful if there is a dispute concerning arrangements for children.   

The advantages of using mediation are clear: it can help couples reduce the costs associated with a drawn-out court process (particularly with lengthy backlogs in the Family Court), it can reduce tensions, allowing the couple to focus on the wellbeing of any children, and it can lead to a swifter resolution. 

There is particular advantage to high profile couples, such as Lopez and Affleck, in that mediation is a completely confidential process, removing the stress of court proceedings as well as unwanted publicity and media scrutiny - their agreement was reached in private in September 2024 (some four months ago) unbeknownst to the media. As my colleague Emily Borrowdale discussed in her article (from August 2024) Love Don’t Cost A Thing...Or Does It?, the World will not know whether the couple had entered into a prenuptial agreement and the details of their financial resolution.

Statistics reveal that between April and June 2024, couples embarking on family mediation increased by 25%, with the total family matters settled through mediation increasing by 7% on the previous year. Mediation is voluntary and the court is aware that it will not work for everyone; in particular, it may not be appropriate for victims and survivors of domestic abuse. 

However, the courts continue to reiterate the importance of couples using non court methods of dispute resolution (“NCDR or DR”) throughout each stage of the divorce process and court powers and important changes to procedure in family law proceedings were introduced in April 2024. Alternative forms of DR commonly used in divorce proceedings include collaborative law (where couples and their respective lawyers meet face-to-face to work things out) and arbitration (where couples appoint an arbitrator who makes a final and binding decision outside the court process). Mediation too, as Lopez and Affleck have discovered, can prove helpful in finding a swift resolution and in allowing the parties to move on with their lives once the divorce is finalised.