MEDIATION
By: Marvin Chapman
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There are basically two (2) types of divorce mediation:
Voluntary Mediation and Court Connected Mandatory Mediation.
An overview and general outline of both types of mediation are presented below.
Voluntary Mediation
Generally, at any time you and the other parent have the right to enter into voluntary divorce mediation. Voluntary mediation is where you voluntarily (without any mandates from the court or any other source) take your family court issues to an independent third (3rd) party who is has been specifically trained in the art of mediation and negotiation. The primary function of an independent divorce mediator is to assist you and the other parent in coming to compromised agreements, which are then prepared into court approved documents, which then become court orders.
Court Connected Mandatory Mediation
The second type of mediation is court connected mandatory mediation. This mediation is set up by the family courts and you are mandated by the court to attend. Mediators in court connected mandatory mediation offices are generally professional divorce mediators hired by the court to help parents come up with their own agreements, typically dealing only with custody and visitation issues. There are generally two (2) types of court connected mandatory mediation –
Confidential mediation and Recommendation mediation.
Confidential Mediation
Confidential Mediation is where all that is said and done within the mediation session is kept confidential. There court will never hear what was specifically said or done within the mediation sessions.
Recommendation Mediation
Unlike confidential mediation, in recommendation mediation the divorce mediators actually make custody and visitation recommendations directly to the court. Everything that was said and all behaviors exhibited during the mediation sessions are open for the mediator to interpret, judge and comment upon in open court.
Personal Note: I find it very hard to believe divorce mediators within the recommendation mediation model have the audacity to believe they can learn the dynamics of a particular family and become so familiar with the functioning of that family to the degree they are able to ethically make an intelligent recommendation about what is best for that family. I personally believe this is one of clearest forms of abuse which families are subjected to within the adversarial family court system.
Please be sure to read the entire article on Divorce Mediation. You will not want to miss it. You can find this article and many others on such topics as collaborative divorce, the family court system, hiring the right attorney, and father's rights.
You can find these articles at www.dedicatedfathers.blogspot.com and at www.dedicatedfathers.org.
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