It is unfortunate when a marriage ends in divorce. Not only does it mean the end of the marriage, but the litigation process is tedious and expensive.

Litigation involves an array of court filings and hearings that require a lot of time and missed workdays. Not only that, but the parties involved are usually disappointed with the decision imposed by the court. 

One way to save time, energy, and money is through mediation.

What is mediation?

Divorce mediation is a procedure by which the parties involved try to resolve their disputes with the assistance of a neutral third-party mediator. If at the end of the mediation the disputes are not resolved and an agreement is not reached, the process ends and no resolution is imposed. 

Mediators assist the parties with communication, encourage understanding and focus the participants on their individual and common interests.

Types of Mediations: Facilitative or Evaluative

Facilitative mediations involve the mediator relaying the proposals to the parties. Evaluative mediations involve the mediator offering opinions on the issues, with suggestions about how to best resolve them.

Advantages of Divorce Mediation

There are multiple advantages of divorce mediation:

• Time or speed of the process. Parties generally want to be done with divorce as quickly as possible. Mediation facilitates this by utilizing a third party to help resolve disputes.
• Less acrimony for the children of the spouses.
• Mediations take place in less adversarial forums, like offices or neutral places. rather than in courtrooms.
• Mediations allow the parties to sit down and talk face to face. Each spouse speaks while the other listens. Through mediation, the couples can arrange for a more amicable end to the marriage.
• Lower costs. Mediations allow the parties to resolve their disputes faster, thereby lowering costs. A trial can, and usually does, require significant amounts of time and money from both parties.

Disadvantages of Divorce Mediation

The biggest disadvantage of divorce mediation is that it is not binding. Mediations enable both parties to hear each other’s viewpoints and try to arrive at an amicable resolution. However, they do not force an agreement.

Only when the parties agree on terms, and those terms are put into a settlement agreement, do they become binding on the parties and constitute an enforceable order of the Court.

Divorces are difficult for everyone, particularly if there are minor children involved. Mediation offers many advantages and few drawbacks, making it an effective  way to resolve familial disputes between divorcing spouses.

 __

James R. LaPolla, a lawyer in the Warren office of Harrington, Hoppe & Mitchell, focuses on family law, criminal law, and civil litigation. He can be reached at (330) 392-1541 or at jlapolla@hhmlaw.com.