There are many benefits of mediation, including:
Avoid Court: Divorce mediation clients do not go to court. The only court involvement is when a judge signs the judgment that gets sent in at the end of the successful mediation.
Faster Agreements: Litigated cases often take over six months and limited court hours can delay your day in court. Divorce mediation occurs on the participants’ timeline and is much quicker. A mediated agreement is often done in 1-2 meetings.
Client Control: Participants maintain control of their own agreement rather than a judge who is not familiar with their family. Further, this process allows people to make agreements that work best for their family which otherwise could not be ordered by a court due to a court’s limited authority.
Reduced Cost: Litigation is expensive and the total cost is highly unpredictable. Divorce mediation typically costs less because the focus is on resolution, not battle. The cost is more predictable as the number of meetings required will be determined early in the process.
Client Satisfaction: Divorce mediation participants report high degrees of satisfaction with the process as well as the outcome compared to litigation clients. Even if litigants are satisfied with the outcome of a case, they are often dissatisfied with the cost, stress, uncertainty and acrimony associated with litigation.
Maintain Your Privacy: Divorce mediation is a private process, unlike litigation which plays out in a public courtroom. Further, litigation often generates many public documents that include allegations and other “dirty laundry.”
Your Own Timeline: Divorce mediation participants create their own timeline. The case can move at the pace that best suits your family. Litigation clients are subject to the timeline and appearance requirements of the court system.
Preservation of Relationships: The preservation of relationships is often important to clients, especially when kids are involved. One of the reasons divorce mediation works so well is because it assists the parties in communicating with each other. Participants often report they have not communicated so well in years!
Next: Already reached your own agreements? Learn about The Kitchen Table Mediation process.