Benefits of Mediation

Studies show that families that mediate their differences have a substantially better after-divorce relationship than families that litigate their differences. 

Please realize that litigation is lengthy, costly and tends to cause hostility, bitterness and fear as the control of your future moves away from you into the hands of lawyers who need to summarize your life in order for a judge to make a decision.

The courts are not prepared to deal with the sheer volume of cases. This is not from a lack of desire but a lack of time. In a perfect world only the high conflict cases would proceed through the court system with the majority of cases being resolved by the parties themselves or through alternative solutions.

Terms of a separation should not be decided by friends, family members or court officials; they should be decided by you! The judges do not have time to review each of your cases in detail and create custom decisions based on your unique situation. What may seem perfectly obvious and logical to you may not be to them with their limited knowledge of your case...and most importantly your family. You are represented by your lawyer in court matters and your emotions are probably hurting more than they are helping. There is no place for emotion in the legal process yet many of the issues to be resolved are emotional rather than legal.

Mediation services exist in order to empower you to create individual plans with less disruption and cost to you than the legal system.

If children are involved; and let’s be very clear, they are “involved” in the break-up of a relationship, it stands to reason that voluntarily and privately working through your agreements in the best interests of your children should be your primary goal.

In summary the benefits of mediation are:

Increased compliance with agreements designed by you

• Increased compliance with agreements designed by you
• Joint planning for the future, not arguing over the past
• Discussions are private and confidential
• Focus is kept on the best interest of the children; if children are involved
• Opportunity to speak directly to the other person in a safe environment
• Much less expensive than the legal process
• Provides you with new negotiation skills that allow you to settle future disagreements