Even in a fairly amicable and uncontested divorce, the spouses won’t agree on every issue. There is often a long process of negotiation before the parties can resolve difficult issues of child custody and property division.
And then there are areas of dispute in which the parties simply cannot agree on their own. In some cases, this means they must go to court to have a judge decide the issue for them. But going to court is expensive, time-consuming, public and somewhat unpredictable. It can also leave the parties feeling a lack of control, along with a lingering bitterness.
Mediation offers an alternative
For these and other reasons, many people rely on mediation to resolve issues in their divorce. Mediation is a form of negotiation in which a neutral third party, known as a mediator, facilitates the discussion. Maryland courts sometimes order parties to go to mediation, and many parties choose mediation on their own.
Unlike one of the parties’ lawyers, a mediator is neutral. Unlike a judge, a mediator cannot render a decision in a case. Rather, they guide the parties toward agreement. Once they have an agreement, they send it off to the court for approval.
When negotiations are going nowhere and the parties won’t budge, a mediator can cut through the adversarial nature of the dispute and get both sides to work toward resolution. It’s less expensive and usually faster than going to court and tends to reduce the lingering bad feelings that are so common in divorce. Because of this quality, it can be especially valuable in child custody disputes and any divorce case where children are involved.