Let’s go over the Divorce Mediation Basics

One of those is a professional mediation, and it has helped millions of couples settle important issues related to child custody, spousal support, and many others. Scheduling a divorce mediation session doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll settle the issues to the point where you won’t get divorced, but it does help settle important issues that must be resolved before the divorce is finalized.

What Is Divorce Mediation?

Let’s go over the Divorce Mediation Basics. Simply put, a mediation is a formal process that involves the couple themselves and an objective third party that is not there to do anything except help the couple resolve issues. The mediator merely assists both parties and does not tell the parties what they should do.

Since the mediator is objective and has no stake in the outcome of the mediation process, their role is that of an intermediary who can offer opinions or make suggestions, but they will never force the couple to do one thing or another. Think of it like this: a mediation exists to find solutions to the issues plaguing the soon-to-be-divorced couple.

Mediators meet with both parties and their lawyers and help the couple negotiate resolutions to the problems they’re dealing with. The process means that these issues can be discussed openly and confidentially, disagreements can be cleared up, and compromises can be established that make both parties happy.

Instead of a formal litigation process that takes place in divorce court, mediation can settle issues before it gets to that point, making it much easier on everyone involved. There are no issues that cannot be discussed during a divorce mediation, so both parties can feel at ease during the session.

What Are the Advantages of Professional Mediation?

As you can imagine, professional mediation offers many advantages to the couple involved because even though the intermediary isn’t there to tell the couple what they should do about their various issues, they can still assist both parties in coming up with an amicable solution and one that will work for both parties.

Below are some of the many perks of professional mediation:

• It is a fair process. Mediators are not there to help one party and not the other. Their purpose is not to pick the best side of an argument or issue and tell the couple that’s what they need to do. Mediators are fair and equal to both parties, in part because the mediator has no stake in the outcome of the mediation itself. That being said, because these mediators are objective, they are able to see certain solutions that the divorcing partners might not be able to see themselves.

• It saves both time and money. If the mediation is successful, which is always the main goal, it will save the couple the formal process of divorce court. It helps minimize the court’s caseload because there is no formal divorce court, but more importantly, the couple will save time and money simply because they won’t be taking up so much of the court’s time.
• It is confidential for both parties. Since the process takes place behind closed doors and not in public, it is completely confidential every time. No court reporter is there to take notes and there is no official record of what anyone says during the session. As such, you can feel comfortable saying anything you want in there and no one will ever know. Since this is not a public process, none of your dirty laundry will ever be aired in public at any time.

With divorce mediation, both parties are on the same level playing field, which tends to produce outcomes that are much fairer to everyone involved.

It doesn’t mean that you won’t need your own lawyer, of course, but it does mean that you’ll be able to go through the process knowing that you’re on the same page, so to speak, as the other party. This should immediately put you at ease before the mediation even begins.

Can You Prepare for Your Mediation Session?

Not only can you prepare for mediation, but you should prepare for it. More often than not, a divorce mediation basics will discuss issues such as:

• Division of marital property
• All debts
• Spousal support
• Child support
• Retirement accounts

This means that you should always come prepared. Have paperwork and documentation on hand when you enter the room, and talk to your lawyer ahead of time to better prepare for what might happen when you get in there.

There is no such thing as being too prepared when you’re going through a divorce, and a professional mediation can help resolve all sorts of issues before they become too problematic. Even better, professional family attorneys are waiting to help you whenever you feel it’s time to do so.