Why Are Pennsylvanians Choosing Mediation?

Resolving family-related disputes is never easy. Mediation is not a magic wand to wave over your conflicts to get everything you want and to make all of the arguing go away. At Beroes Law Center, our attorneys lean into mediation for creating settlement agreements because we know it is often a good way to resolve your differences quicker than going to court.

A successful mediation can produce a settlement agreement or parenting plan that the court will sign into a court order. When you have contributed to the process, it can be a longer-lasting agreement. Mediation can save you time, emotional turmoil and money in comparison to trying to fight it out according to the court’s calendar and a family court judge who is not really in touch with your family’s situation.

What Are The Advantages Of Family Law Mediation In Pennsylvania?

Family law mediation can be used to address everything from the way the household furnishings are divided in a divorce to how much time each parent gets with their children. The advantages of trying mediation before moving to litigation can be huge and include the following:

• There is more control: Mediated agreements can be a lot more flexible than the orders imposed by a judge. Each party has a say in the outcome of the mediation, and there’s no determination of fault. When the parties are willing to engage in good faith efforts toward a solution, mediation can allow for mutually satisfactory results.
• It can be less costly and time-consuming: Mediation typically involves fewer legal bills, and it is not dependent on a court’s crowded schedule. This can make mediation particularly useful when a couple wants to resolve their dispute in a time-sensitive manner.
• It can preserve ongoing relationships: Because mediation, unlike litigation, is not inherently adversarial, the parties may be able to resolve their interpersonal disputes without destroying their capacity to work together in the future. This can be particularly important to co-parents who have their children’s best interests in mind.
• There tends to be better compliance. Obtaining a court order is sometimes easier than enforcing it. When an agreement is the result of negotiations, there is no “winner” or “loser.” Since both parties had to agree to the results, that means that both sides are more likely to stick to the agreements without further legal action.

Finally, mediation can set the foundation for addressing future disputes between the parties. Once a couple has managed to hammer out an agreement on their own, they may be more inclined to try a cooperative approach on their own when new disputes arise.

What Is The Process Of Mediation?

Engaging in mediation can help you avoid the angst of having to go into family court to work out the details of your property division, divorce tax issues, parsing out your pensions or contentious child custody arguments. Successful mediation can keep your sensitive family issues private because your mediation sessions are not recorded, or part of a public record, and you may spend less time and money than going to court.

Mediation starts with both parties committing to willingly discuss your divorce or child-related expectations with a neutral third party and being ready to make concessions in the best interests of everyone’s future stability after your divorce or separation. You and the other party create a schedule and goals for these discussions. The settlement agreement you create together as a result of these meetings will become binding only when the family court judge signs it. At that point, it then becomes a court order. Either party can choose to end mediation if the process becomes unfair or disagreements escalate.

Is Mediation Right For Your Circumstances?

With so many benefits, you may be asking, why not mediate? Not everyone is willing to work it out in mediation. Your spouse could be unwilling, to tell the truth about hidden assets or refuse to budge on putting the best interests of your children at the forefront of a new parenting schedule. If the other party refuses to participate in the give-and-take discussions central to mediation, you may have to take the family court route.

Find out if mediation is right for you by contacting Beroes Law Center in Pittsburgh at 412-621-6811 or by sending us an email. We provide compassionate legal advocacy for clients throughout Allegheny County and surrounding communities in Pennsylvania.