How Does Family Mediation Work?
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Family mediation is the mediation of disputes in actions for divorce, annulment, paternity, child custody or visitation, child support, or alimony. Mediation can be used to resolve the entire range of family disputes either in court proceedings or after (e.g., continuing disputes from a custody agreement).
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A family may include a wide range of interpersonal relationships, including, but not limited to:
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Two parents (married or not) and one or more children;
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A childless married couple;
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A single parent and one or more children;
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A parent and a foster child; or
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A household including a group of people such as grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.
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No matter how your particular family is structured, family mediation will focus on finding win/win solutions and allowing parties to go forward with more understanding of each other's points of view than they had previously. It may mean mediation between people who are divorcing or who are in a custody fight. It also may mean mediation between other family members such as a parent and a teenager or between parents and grandparents who wish to work out conflicts and improve their communication.
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Divorce Mediation may help you resolve your case so you can have an uncontested divorce. It can save you money and promote positive dispute resolution.
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Studies show that families who mediate their differences have a substantially better after-divorce relationship than families who litigate their differences. Also, mediation is confidential. The emotional and perhaps embarrassing issues that are raised in divorce and child custody situations will be kept private, as opposed to a trial where all of the proceedings are part of the public record. They are also confidential. This is especially important when mediation concerns children. The adversarial nature of a divorce trial can severely strain the ability of parents to communicate with each other and their children. Dealing with custody, visitation, and child support in mediation can often reduce much of the bitterness and support positive family interaction. This can really help the children who usually want a close bond with both their mother and father.