Should You Go Through The Mediation Process In Your Divorce
When a marriage has broken down beyond any hope of repair,
couples are choosing the mediation process over the hostile divorce
process. Now, you might be wondering what mediation is and what
benefits it has to offer folks.
Mediation: What Is It?
Did you know that nearly half of all marriages will end in divorce?
That’s 40 percent of marriages today that will end… that’s just a plain
fact. The divorce process can be extremely difficult and exhausting to
go through. Most folks detest the idea of a divorce because of the
bitterness it can cause. However, if the divorce is amicable
(meaning both parties want it), the separation process is less
stressful, costly and time consuming.
What Is A Mediator?
A mediator is a third, neutral party who helps negotiate matters during
the divorce process. Mediators are not for one person or the other,
unlike a solicitor or attorney because they are unbiased. A mediator’s
role is to listen to the parties, encourage both parties to talk
sensibly and come up with a fair agreement. If all the parties are to
be satisfied in the court of law, a mediator is the surefire way to get
this done.
Mediators are not marriage counselors or therapists, and the only goal
they have is to ensure the relationship ends in an amicable manner.
People would have wrong assumption that one spouse could be able to
dominate another party through any possible ways that he/she can think
of. Here comes a good mediator’s role taking play, paying close
attention to measure if there is any power unbalance between the
spouses and using special techniques to address the potential issues.
The mediator will put it on a stop if such a dominating behavior is
detected during the process. However, there is a possibility of such a
power imbalance situation outside the mediation session, which is out
of mediator’s range unless the spouses don’t let the mediator know
beforehand.
3 Key Benefits Of
Mediation
There are several big benefits to using mediation over the conventional
divorce litigation:
1 – Less Anger
Divorce commonly breeds anger and hostility, whether it’s in letters
from attorneys or solicitors or by words in court. Some folks have said
that nothing really gets accomplished when anger and tension is high.
Mediation, on the other hand, deals with matters in a calm manner and
in a neutral environment – something a little more pleasant.
2 – Confidentiality Is Higher
Mediation means things are kept confidential. In a court of law, a
reporter records every spoken word, which can easily be found by
others. Simply put: your private and personal matters can be aired in
the public eye. Mediation ensures that everything is kept private. If
the mediation process falls apart, nothing you have said in mediation
can be used against you in a court of law by your soon-to-be-ex.
3 – Cheaper Fees
The fees for mediation over a solicitor or attorney are generally much
less, which is a big reason people opt for the mediation process. Due
to a reassessment of legal aid rules, the difference in costs has
increased significantly in the last few years.
More Important Points To
Make Note About
You might feel this is a disadvantage to you but it really isn’t:
The outcome that comes from the mediation process is not immediately
legally binding. For it to be legally binding, terms must be laid out
in writing, which involves the services of a solicitor.
Contrary to many people’s myth, women are not at a disadvantage in
mediation process because they are free to stop the mediation process
or allowed to refuse any forced signature if the agreement looks unfair
to them. In fact, women can obtain a better result in the process than
the court, through non legal factors that can be open to talk and
negotiation during the process.
Mediation doesn’t end when there is a settlement. After all, sometimes
a settlement cannot be reached. Bear in mind that the mediation process
is voluntary. Thus, in order for it to work, the parties must work
together for it to progress. If one or both decide it’s not working for
them, the mediation process can be discontinued. Of course,
discontinued mediation means going back to the litigation process the
parties wanted to initially avoid.