Family law mediation is an alternative to litigation that involves the use of a neutral third-party. Mediation is less expensive than litigation, and the goal of mediation is to resolve the issues arising from the parties’ separation and divorce in a binding mediation agreement. The Law Office of James Tyler Brooks can help you determine if the mediation process is the correct legal alternative for your situation.
Prior to scheduling mediation, our firm will either submit an offer of settlement to the opposing party or counsel, or we will submit a counter-offer to the opposing party’s offer of settlement. This process of offer of settlement exchange allows us to determine whether mediation is the appropriate avenue of resolution of the marital issues, and the process also enables us to narrow the scope of issues to be resolved in mediation.
If we determine that mediation is in the best interest of our clients, then our divorce attorney, along with the opposing party’s attorney, proceeds in the selection of a family law mediator. Selecting the right mediator is critical to ensuring that a settlement can be reached. Divorce and family law are the primary areas of focus of our firm, and our family law attorney has worked with the best mediators in the Raleigh, NC area for many years. We know the right mediators to select, and we know the ones to avoid.
The mediator is not your attorney, nor is the mediator your spouse’s attorney. The mediator simply acts as a conduit between the two parties, relaying offers and offering opinions based on his or her own experience as a family law attorney. This is an important point—at no time during the process do you relinquish your right to legal representation—the mechanics of mediation just drive the process in a different way.
Mediation is a very effective means of settling divorce related issues such as alimony, asset division, child custody and child support. Even when the parties have completely opposing and seemingly irreconcilable positions, mediation has often proven successful in bringing the parties to a fair and reasonable agreement. Because mediation can be such an effective vehicle in resolving issues between spouses, we never hesitate to recommend this option when appropriate for our clients.