Court-Ordered Divorce Mediation Can Settle Disagreements

In the eyes of the law, a marriage is a civil contract made between two people and when they determine, either amicably or in a contested divorce to end the marriage, the points of their contract must be worked out before the divorce is final. In many cases when two people cannot agree on certain points of their separation, divorce mediation may be ordered by the court to reach a fair settlement.

Prior to walking into court for a divorce proceeding, couples are expected to have all issues regarding child custody, child support and division of assets worked out ahead of time. If, on the say of the hearing they have been unable to reach an accord on one or several issues, the judge can order divorce mediation, with a third-party to help the couple come to an agreement. The judges would rather the couple work a mediation specialist to reach and agreement on their own, rather than to have the court decide on the issue.

In some cases, where divorce mediation was not used and a judge ruled in favor of one party to the proceeding, there is often appeals of the decision filed. Most appeals judges usually simply tell them that since they couldn't reach an agreement and the judge was forced to step in an do so, they will have to live with the judge's decision.

Better To Agree Than Let Judge Decide

Try as couple may, emotions are going to play into any negotiations regarding children and money. While most of the times, decision surrounding larger issues can be worked out easily, it is usually small decisions that provide the most tension. Whether it is the ownership of a third car or how much a house and property is worth, divorce mediation often makes short work of the issue.

However, when it comes to more personal belongings, such as pets or family heirlooms, even divorce mediation may fail to produce an amicable settlement. It is always better for the terms in the divorce decree to be decided by the parties involved than allow the judge to have sole discretion in making the decision.

During divorce mediation emotions can be put aside by the mediator and the couple can use logic and facts to make the right decision. Once decisions have been made through the use of divorce mediation, the couple can be more accepting of the final outcome since they had a hand in making the decision.