What Are The Benefits Of Divorce Mediation?

Relationships

• Divorce Mediation helps preserve a good relationship with your spouse and reducing the tension for the sake of the children.
• Spouses who mediate their divorce typically are better able to communicate and cooperate and to keep tensions down for the sake of the children.
• The mediation experience builds a base for future cooperation between the parties and teaches you how to resolve issues in a cooperative manner.
• Typically the parties are more satisfied by having arrived at their own "solutions" to the problems as opposed to having a judge make the decisions.
• The parties' children typically benefit from such a collaborative approach.

Less Costly

• Typically mediation is significantly less expensive than a litigated divorce. A typical mediated divorce costs about $5,000.
• If the case goes to court, the cost may be three times as high -- or more.
• Mediation is less expensive than paying two lawyers to fight for each spouse.

Less Time Consuming

• Mediated divorce cases typically take considerably less time than a litigated divorce.

Greater Overall Satisfaction

• In Mediation the parties are assisted by a mediator to reach an agreement developed by the spouses themselves, not one imposed by a judge or the court system.
• Typically those spouses who mediate their own settlement are much more satisfied with their divorce.
• In addition, children of mediated divorces may adjust better to the divorce of their parents than children of litigated divorces.
• Clients are given the control to determine the schedule and the issues to be discussed. By putting the control of setting the schedule in clients' hands, divorce mediation is much faster than family litigation because the case doesn't rely on the court's schedule.
• Clients control the cost of the mediation, which is typically three times less than the cost of a traditional divorce case involving litigation.
• Mediation is efficient. Settlement can be achieved more quickly when the approach shifts from polarizing debate to creative solution-seeking.
• Clients are given the flexibility to take the time needed to consider how a decision reached in mediation will affect their future. They can agree to "reality test" agreements to see how they work, and make changes after seeing how these agreements work in practice. You make the decisions you'll be living with-not a judge.
• When clients participate in each decision, the outcome is better tailored to the needs of the family. When clients choose to litigate and have a judge make the decisions, the outcome can be unpredictable, as well as impractical for the family.
• Divorce mediation can be healthier for the family, since part of mediation is learning to communicate better, which is especially important when children are involved. Mediation helps preserve a good relationship with your spouse and reduce the tension for the sake of the children. Spouses who mediate their divorce typically are better able to communicate and cooperate and to keep tensions down for the sake of the children.
• Agreements made in mediation have a higher degree of compliance and success than those negotiated in the courthouse, because clients control the outcome. The mediation experience builds a base for future cooperation between the parties and teaches clients how to resolve issues in a cooperative manner.
• Mediation allows the client to make choices. Settlements are not dictated in mediation. Agreement is reached only when the parties say "yes" to each other. Typically the parties are more satisfied by having arrived at their own "solutions" to the problems as opposed to having a judge make the decisions.
• Divorce mediation is confidential and private. Clients can discuss the important issues in the privacy and comfort of the mediator's office, rather than a crowded courthouse hallway or less desirable location. A mediator's files are confidential -- court files are public records that anyone can view.
• Clients always have the choice to litigate if mediation is unsuccessful. It's much more difficult to mediate after litigation has flared up emotional conflict and made it more difficult for spouses to communicate and trust each other.
• The mediator's job is to ensure that everyone gets a chance to express all of their concerns. If one spouse has been more controlling in the marriage or the other too afraid to express themself, the mediator can help balance the power between the two. In court, it's often becomes a matter of who has the stronger, more vocal attorney.
• Mediation provides long-term benefits. The possibility of future conflict is reduced, and relationships are often transformed, when agreement is reached through this collaborative process. Typically those spouses who mediate their own settlement are much more satisfied with their divorce.

Divorce Mediation