Why Mediation Is Best For Child Custody Battles

In the middle of a separation or divorce, each one of the husband and wife might ask herself or himself this problem: "Do I immediately go to court or simply try child custody mediation before anything else?" Professionals, at least those that encourage mediation, and people who have undergone the procedure, agree that there are good reasons to try to mediate child support issues first.

Mediators generally cannot impose a solution, so you lose nothing when you try to mediate first. Other advantages of mediation are:

The process is much less fearful and individuals are typically willing to make more concessions simply because mediation is a cooperative method of resolving issues and isn't generally binding. Similarly, individuals are permitted to speak about themselves more openly than in court since typically nothing you say or do in mediation can ever be used in a divorce case.

To be a professional, neutral party, the mediator must not be interested or invested in both sides.

No witnesses or evidence would be necessary, and no lawyers are required (unless you want to consult with one prior to mediation and before signing the agreement reached). Thus, this alternative dispute resolution comes with lesser fees than with a full trial.

Because there's no need to determine who perpetrated a wrongdoing that aggravated the other, unlike in court proceedings, mediation can reach a solution more rapidly. Mediators claim that sessions typically conducted and concluded in a week or two, while lawsuits take several months or even years to finish.

Setting the atmosphere for your broken relationship going forward is going to be best for your child and will be setting a good example. Both you and your ex-spouse still have to interact in some manner even when you already parted ways.

In the event the 2 parties cannot be in the same location at the same time, the mediator can accommodate this and sessions can be done individually. Going back and forth between parties and fixing a settlement until finally all is accomplished.

Putting aside personal quarrels or other issues for the child's sake is the foremost aim of mediation. It redirects the focus to who is really important—the child. In the end, when a good acquiescence is reached everybody wins.


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Mediators generally cannot impose a solution, so you lose nothing when
you try to mediate first.