Articles Posted in Mediation

One of the questions that many people ask when they come into my office is “do I need to have a lawyer at mediation?” While each St. Augustine divorce case is different, the short answer is “Yes.” Even if you have begun your St. Augustine Divorce case on your own, having a lawyer at any stage of your divorce, a really good idea to have at your mediation.

Many judges will order divorce proceedings to go to mediation before a judge will make a final determination and mediations can present several unique circumstances that you may not anticipate or know exactly how to deal with. There are several things to keep in mind if you plan on not hiring a St. Augustine Divorce Attorney to represent you at mediation:

1) The mediator cannot and will not give you legal advice like a St. Augustine Divorce Attorney can. A St. Augustine Divorce Attorney will ensure that you have the information necessary to make an informed decision.

When divorcing in Jacksonville, Florida, couples have one big decision to make regarding how their divorce process will play out. Divorcing couples can choose to go down the often less stressful and short road of an uncontested divorce by deciding they will be the decision maker in the divorce process or they can decide to go down the long and often tumultuous road of a contested divorce giving full decision making power to the Family Law Judge.

If divorcing couples are smart they will save time and money by choosing to attend mediation (which is almost always court ordered in Jacksonville, Florida) and come to an amicable agreement in regards to the splitting of assets and debts and time with any minor children. If parties choose to take this route their divorce can be completed within a matter of a few months.

However, taking the uncontested/mediating avenue is not always an option. Sometimes parties can just not agree. After all, roughly 10% of divorces end in a trial. When this occurs a Judge decides the parties fate. It has been my experience, as a Jacksonville Divorce Lawyer, that neither party is truly happy with the Judge’s decision. Not only may the parties’ be unhappy with the Judge’s ruling, they likely spent a substantial amount of money in attorney’s fees and the process could have lasted many many months.

Have you been wronged in your marriage and want to file for divorce? Do you want to make the divorce process as miserable and prolonged as possible for the spouse who wronged you? As a Jacksonville Divorce Lawyer I recommend thinking past your anger and looking at the bigger picture. Divorce is obviously an unpleasant procedure, but divorcing couples should consider doing what divorce lawyers do in their own divorces.

Divorce lawyers going through a personal divorce do their damnedest to stay out of the courtroom. They know all to well that no one wins when divorcing couples go all the way to trial. They know going to court, “wastes energy, time, and money and is a last resort; it is something they will consider only when there is no other choice.”

Divorce lawyers have vicariously experienced their client’s frustrations during the divorce process. One such frustration is the client’s desire to inform the Family Law Judge of all the injustices, dishonesty, betrayal, adultery, etc… However, in reality, if the client is given the opportunity to testify in front of the Judge they are merely allowed to speak when answering a question posed to them. There is no, “Judge he did this to me and didn’t do this, that or the other.” Oh, and of course, the rules of evidence will only allow that certain testimony be presented.

In the vast majority of divorce cases (and all family law cases for that matter) in Duval County, Family Law Judges order parties to attend Mediation prior to trial. As a Jacksonville Divorce Lawyer, I know that the majority of these cases can be settled at Mediation.

What exactly happens at Mediation? Well, in Mediation, a neutral third party (the mediator) helps negotiate a marital settlement agreement between the divorcing couple. However, it is important to know, the mediator cannot force either party to agree to anything. The decision-making is truly left up to both parties, which is of course completely opposite then if the parties were to go before a Judge. The mediator can meet with the parties together and/or separately to see if a compromise can be reached, which tends to be far more relaxed and informal then trial.

If an agreement is reached during the mediation, it is immediately reduced to writing. Which then, basically becomes the final divorce decree, and is legally binding. After an agreement is made and reduced to writing at mediation all that is left to do is have the Judge sign the agreement and thus make the divorce final.