Whether maintaining your marriage or obtaining a divorce - mediation will help you do it constructively.

What is mediation?
A qualified neutral third party facilitates resolution of a dispute in a confidential setting.

How does mediation work?
Parties in a dispute schedule time with a mediator who helps them reach clearer understanding of each other's position and what is really important, as opposed to what they say is important. This clearer understanding frequently helps the parties reach an agreement.

What kinds of cases can be mediated?
Almost any type of dispute can be mediated, as exemplified by the recent creation of marriage mediation. Through the courts, divorce, landlord-tenant, contract disputes, business disillusions, and contractor-construction disputes have all been successfully mediated.

Is mediation legally binding?
If all parties and their attorneys are present at the mediation, a document detailing the agreement should be prepared and signed, which will be legally binding. If no attorneys are present and the parties do not sign anything, then a court of law will not hold the mediation binding until an agreement is prepared and signed.

Are attorneys involved in the mediation?
Often, but not always. In family law cases, people sometimes come without attorneys as the issues are frequently more emotional, than legal. It is up to the client.

Who can be a mediator?
States differ but many states have no legal requirements for a mediator; however, most courts require a certain amount of training and experience to be a "court certified mediator".

What happens if no agreement is reached?
Many times, when no agreement is reached in mediation, the parties or their attorneys reach an agreement soon thereafter, as they have cleared away much of the misunderstanding upon which the dispute may be based. In any case, everything presented in the mediation process is strictly confidential and cannot be used later in any court proceedings or as evidence against another party, unless it was obtained from an independent source outside of mediation.

How much does it cost and who pays?
This is determined by the individual mediator and the client. Usually the parties all share in the cost for the mediator, who may charge an hourly fee or may do certain types of mediation as a flat fee or package deal.

What are the advantages and disadvantages?
Advantages to mediation are that it provides a method to address your dispute that is usually cheaper, quicker, and more satisfactory than traditional courtroom litigation, since you have control over the process. A disadvantage is that it is usually a voluntary process which will therefore, not be effective if all parties are unwilling to participate.

Does mediation work?
According to court statistics about 85% of cases mediated do settle. Also, the settlements are more likely to be followed than court imposed rulings.