Mediation

Benefits of Divorce and Family Law Mediation

Mediation isn’t always appreciated.  Sometimes it’s seen as one of the stepsisters in Cinderella.  I see it in my client’s eyes when I mention it as an alternative to trial or before a hearing or trial.

I am a true fan of mediation.  Mediation can be used in divorce, child support modification, child support enforcement, child possession modification, suits affecting the parent-child relationship, to name a few.  I use mediation in my cases and I am a volunteer mediator and a private mediator.  In my opinion, there are several ways that mediation can help in family law and divorce cases.  Mediation can be an all-day event or a half-day and preparation is important.

Mediation helps clients and attorneys, even if an agreement isn’t reached, in ways that can only be unique to mediation.  Here is what I think is unique and beneficial to mediation:

Mediation Requires Preparation

The beginning of any family law or divorce case is usually focused on redefining aspects of the relationship to make it work until the end.  Mediators, either private or through a program like Denton County Alternative Dispute Resolution Program, request certain information from both the parties in the case and the attorneys before the mediation.  This step of putting together the information that is requested, reviewing the file, the attorney discussing elements of the case with the client begins to bring clarity to the case in the ways discussed below.

Mediation Focuses Issues for Clients

Mediation can be as short as half-day or a full 8-hour day or longer.  I think each client prepares for mediation differently on a personal level.  In preparation for mediation in my office, I ask my clients to provide certain things to me based on their case.  I provide different things to them to read to prepare for the day of mediation.  This process of working through this new phase of their case, and their lives, happens over a period of time.  The issues for mediation and resolution may not be the same as the issues at the beginning of the case.  The client needs to know what issues are important now to be able to mediate successfully – whether an agreement is reached or not.

Mediation Focuses Issues for Attorneys

Mediation requires the attorney to move from the beginning phase of the case to the resolution phase of the case.  Resolution will eventually happen in every case, except for a few unique cases.  But, not every case will reach resolution the same way.  Each divorce is unique as is every family law issue.  As I prepare with my client, those things that are our most important issues for the resolution of the divorce or family law issue come into focus.

When she’s not mediating a case, Jill can be reached at O’Connell Law Firm, P.C., 940-497-5454.

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