What Is Mediation ?

In mediation, the responsibility for making decisions stays where it belongs - with the family. In mediation, you and your spouse self-determine the important decisions, not a judge, lawyer or law guardian. Mediation is forward looking.

What Are the Benefits of Mediation ?

There are many reasons why people have found mediation beneficial:

  1. Mediation emphasizes that divorce is not the end of the family but a reorganization of how the family operates.
  2. Issues concerning divorce are emotional and personal rather than legal. Conflict is natural, but often destructive. A mediator, as a neutral third party, seeks to reduce conflict and promote your common needs.
  3. The stress and anxiety associated with divorce, particularly for children, can be reduced. In mediation parents affirm their affection and concern for the children and can reduce the normal fears and anxieties of children concerning the "loss" of one parent.
  4. Self-determination and control over the outcome promotes positive, lasting results for everyone. Those who make a plan are more likely to follow it than those whose decision has been made for them by a Court and law guardian.
  5. Research indicates that the successful adjustment of children following separation and divorce is directly related to the level of cooperation between parents and their continued involvement in the lives of their children. Mediation encourages participants to see themselves and each other as capable parents with a continuing responsibility to plan together for the future of their children.