Advantages of Mediation
Direct Participation in Creation of the Agreement
Parties in mediation participate directly in the negotiation of the terms for their Separation Agreement. They have the advantage of creating an agreement which will be tailor-made to their own family's needs.
The direct participation of the parties in the creation of their own agreement is a way to ensure that the agreement will be seen to be fair, rather than something imposed by a third party.
Validation of Feelings
In family mediation, each party is given a full opportunity to express his or her own feelings about each issue in the presence of the other party.
The mediator will use this part of the process to give each party an opportunity to have his or her feelings validated. This advantage is unique to the mediation process and can be a valuable tool in helping parties to reach agreement on difficult issues.
Active Listening
The mediator will encourage the parties to use active listening so as to truly appreciate the underlying interests and concerns of the other spouse.
The appreciation of the real reasons for the positions being taken by each party is the key which opens the door to compromise and agreement.
As the mediator assists the parties in hearing and understanding each other’s interests, they learn that, despite their differences, they can reach agreement on substantial areas of dispute. They will also recognize that if future problems arise, they will be able to come back to the mediation process to settle those differences.
High Success Rate
The rate of success in family mediation is higher than 80 percent. This means that more than 80 percent of all couples who choose family mediation reach an agreement that settles all of their issues.
This is an important statistic because “success” in this context means success for both parties since each spouse has participated and accepted the terms of settlement.
Early Settlement
Couples using family mediation are often able to reach and sign a Separation Agreement within a matter of weeks.
Control of Costs
Couples who use family mediation to resolve their issues after separation are able to control and minimize the costs of separation. The costs involved in family mediation will generally be far less than the costs involved in any other process for resolution of family disputes.