Benefits of Mediation

 Money and emotions drive many family disputes.  At the heart of it, family members are anxious, scared, and confused.  Too often, the legal system promotes treating disputes as a "winnable" contest.  The truth is, no one "wins" in a family dispute.  Instead, families need solutions - not a competition.  Mediation promotes working together to define and solve problems rather than to "win" a contest against each other. 

Our legal system is not designed, equipped, or capable of placing value on any aspect of a family beyond money.  This leaves out the most important aspect of dispute resolution - how the parties move forward when the dispute is over.  Families are still families after a divorce - they just have a different structure.  "Scorched earth" tactics create huge issues post-dispute.  Mediation provides an environment that can place value on the relationship while respecting the practical issues arising in family reorganization.

So often families utilizing litigation to resolve disputes find themselves at the end with far less money, raw emotions, and nothing to show for the dispute.  Mediation provides a platform beholden to the family members, not the schedules and nuances of courts or attorneys.  It can allow strategic investment in the resources the family needs rather than forcing the expenditure of time, money, and energy needed to present the format and style of redundant and competing "evidence."   Working together, families can obtain the information needed.

It is a well-established principle that when people have a say in the terms of agreements, are far more likely to keep their commitments  Because, in mediation,  you and your spouse shape the agreements together, you both are more likely to abide by them in the future.  Parental conflict is reduced because both parties understand their obligations and are committed to meeting them, which provides huge benefits for your children.

Mediation occurs in a comfortable, informal setting.  This can reduce or eliminate the fear and anxiety associated with court proceedings.  Meetings are scheduled at the convenience of the parties, not the court, and often can be held by video conference.  This reduces time and money spent on potentially erratic and protracted scheduling issues and allows a family to achieve emotional and financial closure. 

Children are often the victims of family disputes.  Mediation insulates children from this very real threat by providing a confidential, safe space for finding solutions to the problems facing families in transition and by promoting a focus on working together to find answers rather than working against each other to gain what is perceived as an advantage.  Far more often than not, when asked about the "advantage" after the lawsuit is resolved, parties find that there was no real advantage and any potential advantage was "not worth it."