Mediated Agreements

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Mediated Agreements

Mediation is integral to the divorce process, whether the case is contested from the start or if there are agreements early on in the process. Parties getting divorced may choose to use a mediator that represents both parties in the beginning of the case. The role of the mediating attorney is to explain to the parties the likely outcome if they were to go to court, and to assist the parties in reaching agreements regarding the division of assets and debts, the character of property, valuations attributable to property to be divided, and child custody and visitation issues. The parties will often have to resolve issues pertaining to spousal and child support as well.
Other times, the case may start as contested, that is to say that there are no real agreements regarding any issues in the beginning of the case. The goal for the divorce attorneys at Evans Law is to work in a proactive way with the opposing party, whether they’re representing themselves or working with an attorney, to narrow the issues for resolution by the Court. This sort of mediation is built into our court systems as parties are required to meet and confer before any hearing. The purpose of this is to narrow the issues, to reach agreements and to perhaps settle the issues without the Court’s intervention. Amazingly, many cases that are very contested early on settle on many important issues without going to trial. One reason for this is that the Court facilitates the settlement of cases with the various sorts of settlement conferences that the parties are required to participate in.
Some divorce cases amount to just working through the parties wish lists and creating a Marital Settlement Agreement from the points of agreement and mediating or working with the parties on the points of disagreement. This sort of divorce is an uncontested dissolution, that is to say, the process of working out the settlement is out of court and informal.
Other times, the parties may choose to mediate their divorce with a private judge. Depending on the extent of the issues that need to be resolved, the private judge may choose to work on the issues from pleadings or from private and confidential meetings. This sort of divorce has attorneys representing each party which is different from the mediated divorce with a single mediating attorney.
The other form of mediation is for child custody. Child custody mediation is available through most court’s family court services that support the courts. For many cases with minor children, the process may be mandatory to the parties before being able to move their contested child custody issues to the next level of court intervention.
Whether your case has the possibility for a mediated resolution from the start or requires court intervention in order to bring a sense of reasonableness to the parties, our family law, child custody and divorce attorneys work hand in hand with the courts in obtaining the sought after outcomes for our clients in Santa Clara County, Santa Cruz County, Monterey County and Sacramento and surrounding counties. Call the office today to set up a free consultation.