Today more and more family cases are resolved in mediation. Only a very small percentage end up in court and of those even fewer end up in a trial.
The cost of litigation is prohibitive and even if one party wins they often have not won after they are required to pay their legal fees.
Family mediation keeps people out of court. It is particularly effective because families are based on relationships and family members focus on how they feel and how they are going to manage emotionally and financially in the future without their partners.
These concerns or fears can be addressed in mediation and creative resolutions can emerge which are based on the law but which are not as rigid as the resolutions a judge will impose.
The other significant benefit of mediation is that it allows families to craft their own agreements as opposed to having a judge tell them what needs to be done. When people craft their own agreements they are able to accept the terms more readily and move forward in a more positive way.
The sooner the financial and emotional ties are severed and resolved the sooner parents can focus on moving forward and being good parents to their children. Parents are required to have a long term relationship with their ex-spouses as the children grow up so if they can begin by resolving their issues in a mediation there will be much less animosity going forward.
Deborah A. Todd
