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- What is Family Law Mediation?
- What are the Benefits of Mediation?
- Are Attorneys Involved?
- Are Other Professionals Needed?
- Is Mediation Always the Best Process?
- Do I Have to Agree?
- What does Mediation Cost?
↓What is Family Law Mediation?
Mediation in family law matters is where the parties to a case (spouses or those in a non-marital relationship), with the guidance and assistance of a mediator, meet to discuss, negotiate and resolve the issues in their particular case. Issues are resolved by way of agreement between the parties rather than a Court Judge deciding the issues for you.
↓What are the Benefits of Mediation?
1) Control: The parties to a case, not a Judge, control the process and ultimately make the final decisions as to how each issue will be resolved.
2) Cost: Mediation can and usually does cost far less than were the parties to retain attorneys and utilize the Court process. The cost of retaining attorneys and going through what can be a lengthy process including several Court hearings can be extremely expensive, running into many thousands of dollars depending on the issues involved.
3) Time: The Court process can often involve a lengthy process. In most scenarios, it can take months to simply obtain a Court date and sometimes years to resolve an entire case. With mediation, again, the parties control the process and, depending on the cooperation and participation of the parties and the number of mediation sessions required, the entire process can take weeks or months to complete the entire case.
4) Terms: Mediation can be utilized to find the best solution for the parties, rather than a defined, “fair” solution determined by the Courts. While many resolutions might be “fair”, they may not serve the parties depending on their particular and unique circumstances. The parties, with the assistance of our Mediators, can fashion agreements that may not be “fair” or prescribed pursuant to California law, or a Judge’s decision as to what might be best in his or her eyes, but more along the lines of what meets the needs of the parties.
5) Non-Adversarial: The customary family law matter is adversarial, i.e., each party, with or without their own attorney, taking a side and with one of those parties “winning” and one “losing”. In actuality, in family law matters, there often are no “winners” especially taking into the account the financial and emotional toll involved. In mediation, the pertinent law is utilized as a guide, however, the end results are decided by the parties themselves, in a non-adversarial fashion.
6) Emotional: Proceeding through the Courts in a family law matter can be extremely stressful. Although discussion of the issues in your matter may be tense at times, the mediation process itself lends itself to a more amicable process and takes less of an emotional toll. In many situations, the parties will continue to have contact in the future (such as if they have children or agree on future transactions relating to division of assets and/or obligations). In that event, having resolved the matter by a non-adversarial mediation rather than a stressful, adversarial Court proceeding, allows the parties to move forward with less hostility, resentment or other negative feelings.
↓Are Attorneys Involved?
At any point in the mediation process, either party can seek guidance and/or advice from an attorney should they wish to do so. Alternatively, the parties can have attorneys assist them in the actual mediation process again, should they wish to do so. We encourage the parties to seek guidance and/or consult with an attorney of their choosing for assistance if needed and/or to review any final settlement agreement prepared in the mediation process.
↓Are Other Professionals Needed?
Depending upon the issues and the complexities of those issues, other professionals might be needed (such as to appraise property or a business, determine cash flow for support purposes or with regard to tax issues). In most scenarios, these professionals can be “jointly” retained to keep costs down and invite a transparent process to gain the information needed to resolve more complex issues, if pertinent to your case.
↓Is Mediation Always the Best Process?
Mediation is the best process if both parties are agreeable to participating. We specialize and focus on assisting the parties through the difficult discussions that might be necessary to resolve any issue. However, if your situation involves domestic violence, hidden assets or income or other deception, mediation may well not be the answer. A successful mediation requires transparency, compromise and consideration of the other person’s position.
↓Do I Have to Agree?
Neither party is forced to agree to anything in the mediation process. Our mediators will assist the parties to arrive at agreements but will not make the decisions for you. Our mediators are just that, mediators, not Judges or decision makers. Our mediators will assist the parties to come up with creative, alternative solutions for those difficult or “hot button” issues that might arise in certain scenarios, allowing the parties to ultimately make the final decision on their own as to whether or not they want to agree to a proposed resolution.
↓What does Mediation Cost?
The cost of mediation depends upon the number of mediation sessions needed to resolve all issues in your case. We will provide you with the information that will be needed at mediation so that you can have the information/data readily available in the mediation process resulting in efficient use of our mediation time. Mediation sessions are usually one to three hours. The number of sessions will depend upon the number of issues and the complexity of those issues, and the extent of the discussion and negotiation needed to resolve the issues. In any event, the time and resulting cost involved in mediation is likely far less than the time involved in a case going through the Court system. (Please sees our Services and Fees for available fee structures/costs.)
