Mediation has been used more and more in many states, including Indiana. In some jurisdictions it has even become mandatory in divorce cases. Why? Mediation gives you and your spouse the chance to control how your property is divided, how visitation is handled, and how child support is decided. The idea is that you have control in reaching an amicable settlement instead of having the Court issue orders that may or may not go the way you want or even expect.
What is mediation and how does it work in divorce cases?
How does mediation work? You, your spouse, and your attorneys will meet with a neutral third party who has usually received a fair amount of training in how to conduct mediation sessions and/or negotiations. Sometimes, everyone will be in the same room or maybe you will be in different rooms with the mediator going back and forth. The mediator’s goal is to help the parties facilitate an agreement. This agreement then will be submitted to the Court.
What happens if we don’t agree on everything? It is common for parties to reach an agreement say on child support, custody, the marital residence, but might disagree on how to separate retirement accounts. What happens is that the Court can be made aware of the agreements that you do have and then you can have a final hearing on the contested matters. This can save you time and money as you do not have to litigate everything.
Is it really better than going to court? Do you want more say in what sort of visitation you get, whether you have joint custody, how your property is split up? Of course you do. By working towards a settlement you get a fair amount of say in what happens to your life post-divorce. By going to Court you not only have to live with something that someone else is telling you to do, but you could lose out on many of the things that you could’ve achieved by going reaching a settlement.
The Law Office of Jeffery M. Haupt is located in South Bend, Indiana and helps people handle family law issues such as divorce, parenting time, child support, paternity, child custody and criminal matters such as DUI/OWI, drug offenses, traffic offenses, etc. The information in this blog should only be used for educational purposes and not be construed as legal advice. Nothing in this blog creates an attorney-client relationship between me and any readers of this blog. No attorney-client relationship is created until you have a document from me saying so. DO NOT POST ABOUT CASE PARTICULARS IN THE COMMENT SECTION.
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