Fort Mill Mediation Attorneys

What is the Purpose of Mediation?

Mediation is a process to resolve a legal conflict in a collaborative, private setting rather than going to court for litigation. During mediation, a neutral third-party mediator oversees the meeting or meetings. The mediator must not take sides or try to influence the decisions of either party, but instead answer legal questions, steer the conversation to stay on track, and encourage cooperation over competition.

The goals of mediation are usually:

• Addressing the concerns and questions of each party.
• Reducing and avoiding challenges caused by unclear communication.
• Negotiating to decide different aspects of the case without the need for court intervention.

Typical Mediation Steps

The overall process of mediation can be broken down into five steps, including:

1. Agreement: Before mediation officially begins, the mediator will set the ground rules and answer preliminary legal questions about the process. All parties who want to continue mediation must sign the mediation agreement, including the mediator.
2. Beginning: At the start of mediation, both parties will be given an opportunity to share their perspectives on the case and disagreements. When these “opening statements” are presented, it is expected that the other party will not interfere.
3. Information review: The mediator will ask both parties for more information about the conflict to see if the decision-making process can be improved with more clarity. Questions can be brought up about the information and evidence by any party, too.
4. Negotiation: This step is arguably the most important part of mediation because negotiation is how both parties can find possible solutions to the disagreement. The goal is to find a middle ground that works for everyone. Again, the mediator cannot take sides or tip the discussion one way or the other, but they are expected to encourage cooperation and discourage adversarial approaches.
5. Conclusion: By the end of mediation, the two parties will have agreed upon a solution to the family law conflict or have decided on the different parts of their divorce agreement. The mediated agreement will need to be reviewed by the court for final approval, which ensures nothing unlawful is included in it. If no agreement is reached through mediation, the next step will likely be to go to court unless another mediation effort is arranged.

Benefits of Mediation Over Litigation

Most people do not want to go to court if it can be avoided, including people with family law disputes or pending divorces. The key benefit of mediation is the ability to resolve a dispute without the need for litigation before a family law court, but the overall benefits go far beyond just that. Our mediation attorneys can help you understand all the many advantages of mediation so you can make an informed decision about attempting it or not. Although it isn’t uncommon for family law judges to require divorcing couples to attempt mediation before going to trial, you might be headed toward mediation even if you didn’t plan for it.

The benefits of mediation vary, such as:

• Potentially less expensive than going to trial, especially when considering lower court costs.
• More control over the entire process.
• Improved privacy because mediation is confidential, not a matter of public record.
• Convenient scheduling for mediation meetings based on the parties’ calendars, not the court’s.
• Able to reach a faster conclusion to conflicts compared to most court cases.
• Reduced risk of destroying the parties’ relationship because it encourages cooperation.

When Should You Use Mediation?

Another benefit of mediation is its versatility. This cooperative process can be applied to nearly all legal conflicts between two parties who need to reach an amicable resolution. At Blood Law, PLLC, we can show you how mediation is useful for a wide variety of family law cases. If you need to resolve a dispute but don’t want to head to court, you should talk to us first about the ways mediation can help.

Mediation might be able to help you find a fair conclusion to these case types:

• Divorce
• Child custody
• Child support
• Spousal support
• Property division
• And more

When everything is considered, you should use mediation when you want to avoid escalating a situation to litigation. You might be surprised by how many different situations can be handled through mediation.