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Who is mediation for? |
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People who do not want to go to court, possibly because they have children and they don’t know how that is going to affect them or they have financial concerns about how much it is going to cost to litigate their divorce, custody or family law matter. |
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What are the requirements for mediation? |
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Both parties have to be able to be in the same room for two hours at a time, they do not want to go to court and they have to be open, honest and provide information. They need to be able to put all their cards on the table. If they are not able to do that, then this is not going to be a successful process. |
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What if the parties are not sure if they’re looking for mediation or litigation? |
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We ask the parties involved to reserve 10 minutes of time to come in and talk about both processes. After this brief consultation, most people will understand and decide how they would like to move forward. What they hear is that it’s a lot less time, money and aggravation, and they’ll often get better results in mediation. |
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How long to does it take? |
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It depends if there are custody issues - it could take anywhere from 3-5 sessions and each session is 2 hours. If the outcome required is divorce and custody, that’s 3-5 sessions. If it is custody only it very possibly could be done it 2 or 3 sessions. If it is a very complex custody with assets and debts it could go longer. It really depends on the situation of the parties, and how open each is to compromise and resolve all outstanding issues.
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Why is mediation considered therapeutic? |
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The process itself is therapeutic because it helps gives people closure, they get through everything for their divorce or separation. And if there is a custody issue, they’re ready to move on as co-parents to act in the child’s or children’s best interest. |
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Is mediation a tension free process? |
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No, there is some tension in mediation, but it is not necessarily a bad thing. It’s that tension that propels people to reach resolutions. We use that energy and channel it in a positive manner. Tension decreases as we reach more and more resolutions. |
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If someone comes to you for mediation, you are then, for all practical purposes, representing both people, right? |
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I am not advocating for either party, I am here to be neutral. My goal in mediation is to reach a resolution, to come to a full agreement on everything. |
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Is this more expensive then going to a paralegal? |
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Yes, but there is no comparison between preparing the documents with an attorney qualified to do mediation and trying to do the same thing through a paralegal. A paralegal does not have the training involved that I do and could not have gone to court to know all the pitfalls of litigation and what potential problems people are going to have in the future.
I’ve seen people make mistakes through a paralegal that they can’t fix and they live with for the rest of their lives. So yes, there is a cost differential, a paralegal might be able to get it done for less than a thousand dollars but the results could be disastrous. |
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Are there times where, after the mediation process, you can’t get a resolution and it has to go to litigation? |
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Very rarely. That’s why I have set parameters for mediation. The parties must be able to be in the same room, they must want an out of court settlement, and they must honestly disclose information on an “as needed” basis. If these parameters are met, then usually this is a good foundation for successful mediation. |
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Besides divorce, what else can be mediated? |
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Most issues covered in family law, such as child custody, relocation, child support, division of assets, arrears, etc. |
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