Under Section 10(1) of the Children and Families Act 2014, you cannot make a court application without first receiving introductory information about mediation.
This applies to any relevant matter of family law – including divorce, dissolution of a civil partnership, and certain other cases involving children and family finances.
A MIAM gives you the introductory information you need to be able to decide whether you want to make use of mediation, or whether you would rather go directly to court.
Mediation itself is not compulsory, but it offers plenty of benefits, typically giving you much more control than if you rely on the decision of the court on matters like the division of finances and assets.
It is also usually much faster and costs significantly less than going through court proceedings.