Hi. I'm Julie Tietz, and welcome to Conflict Resolution-- Putting the Pieces Together. Today we're going to talk about divorce mediation.
In divorce mediation, we are talking about a mediation process that surrounds a divorce. So people that are separating from a marriage, and when they attend divorce mediation, they are working on dividing property and finances.
And if children are involved, they are looking at child custody matters. So physical and legal custody of the minor children, as well as parenting plans. So, how they're going to parent the children after the divorce is complete and making a plan on how they're going to interact with each other, what the activities of the children are going to be, et cetera.
In the divorce mediation process, the parties usually go for this for a number of reasons. And one of those is that it reduces the costs of divorce. So if you're going to get a divorce and you choose to go through the court system rather then go through mediation, you may find you have large attorney bills because you've had to make several court appearances and file several motions.
Whereas, if you've gone through mediation you may find that you don't have those high costs because you attended your mediation sessions outside of the court system. And you only had to go a few times. And the cost was very minimal to you compared to going through the court process with an attorney.
And also, your divorce was probably finalized a lot sooner because you didn't have to wait for multiple court dates that could be months apart. Whereas in mediation, typically you can get through that process faster.
Also when we're looking at divorce mediation, we find that there is more possibilities for mutual satisfaction of the parties because they are developing their own agreements. So they are talking to each other face to face and working out division of property and finances and matters of the children.
And also working on those personal issues as well. Maybe there are some hurt or anger or animosity in the relationship. And we really can work on those issues in mediation.
Whereas in a court process, the judge doesn't have the time or may not take into consideration those emotional factors, and really has to stick to the facts of the law, and has to go by that as their guide. Whereas in divorce mediation, we have a lot more flexibility. And we make our own choices.
Whereas in the court, the judge makes the choices and may or may not know what's best for you, because they only really get to see a small snapshot of your life in that court process. Whereas in mediation, we can approach it more broadly.
And once the parties develop their own agreement, they have their attorneys review the agreement for legality issues, so to make sure that some of the solutions that we have come up with are not illegal. And once that is finalized and confirmed, it's submitted to a judge. And the judge then reviews it as well. And if it's appropriate, enters it into the final divorce decree. And it's a formal agreement that is enforceable by law.
In some states when couples are going through a divorce, they require parties to go through divorce mediation. And usually this means they just have to attend an informational session just to see what the process is about. Or if there are children involved, they may also have to go through an actual mediation session.
And once that initial stage is completed, then they have met that mandatory process requirement. And after they have done so, they can determine whether or not they want to participate. Mediation never requires or forces people to go through the process in divorce. It's a voluntary process. And once that minimum requirement, then they can decide whether or not to be involved.
And if they do decide, they will have to sign a participation agreement. And that's the agreement by the parties to initiate the divorce mediation process. And through this process, they can discontinue it at any time. So even if they've gone through three sessions and they feel that it's not working for them, then they have the right to discontinue the process and choose other avenues to go through the divorce.
And also, if attorneys are representing parties in the mediation process, they are usually required to sign that participation agreement. And in that agreement, it prevents the attorneys from representing parties again in the divorce in future cases.
So let's say that they are working as the mediator for the couples that are in a divorce and the mediation process falls through for some reason. That attorney cannot be retained by either of the couples to represent them in let's say a court trial. So that's what that piece means.
So now that we've gone over divorce mediation, let's look at our key points. So divorce mediation is a really common conflict resolution process in the United States. And it deals with dividing assets and property and finances and child custody matters, including parenting time plans.
And when couples go through divorce mediation, there is more possibility of mutual satisfaction because they are able to work on more of those emotional issues that may be affecting the divorce process and talk more broadly about those more than they would in a court. And they can really work on that post-marriage relationship. So how they're going to act or if they're going to have a relationship after this process is done.
In some states, divorce mediation is mandatory. But usually that means that they have to attend a session where they learn about the mediation process. And after that, they can decide whether or not they want to participate.
And if they have attorneys involved in the divorce mediation process, then the attorneys involved agree or sign an agreement that prevents them from representing either party in the future in other divorce or family-related cases.
Well, that's all I have for you today. Here are your key terms. Feel free to pause and look at them a little closer.
Thanks for taking the time out. I hope that you've learned something. And I can't wait to catch you again next time.