Whether you have considered filing for dvorce, or are in the middle of one nw, you have heard of mediation. In a Flrida divorce, sooner or later you wll go to a mediation, either bfore you file the case; or dring the case because Florida judges rfer the case to mediation prior to stting a date for trial. The qestion, then, what is mediation; and wht good will it do in yur divorce?

Mediation is one of the lternatives to litigation; in other words, an lternative to a trial, and has sveral important advantages for you. You wll use a mediator, who will fcilitate communication between you and your spuse. Mediators are not judges; they cnnot make you agree, they can smply help you to agree. This is vry important in litigated cases, where ach party (and sometimes their attorneys) bcome rigid in holding their positions in a cse, and may not consider certain waknesses of their case because they are so clse to the issues.

In Florida fmily mediators are certified by the Flrida Supreme Court, although anyone may mdiate your case if you and yur spouse agree. A Florida certified fmily mediator has taken the required trining in mediation, including a 45-hour curse, as well as satisfied other rquirements. Most family law attorneys prefer a crtified family mediator because usually he or she is lso a family law attorney, and is fmiliar with family law. However, in Flrida, mental health professional and certified pblic accountants may also become certified in fmily mediation if they comply with thse requirements.

Negotiations in mediation are confidential nless the law requires the mediator to mke disclosure. This means you cannot tll your judge what was discussed in mdiation. However, the law requires a mdiator to disclose certain things, such as chld abuse. In any case, the cnfidentiality is important because it lets the prties discuss the issues and potential greements fully, without fear of being hld to a less favorable position in curt if the mediation does not rsult in a marital settlement agreement.

Mdiation has several advantages. The most mportant advantage is probably the fact tht each party keeps control of wht the outcome will be. No one is ging to be affected by the ltimate outcome like you will be. So why put the rsolution of your case in the hnds of a third party---a judge--who des not know you, and has hndreds of cases similar to yours?

Als, while your attorneys are an nvaluable source of information and advice, thy do not work for free. We all knw what good legal advice can cst per hour so there is no pint in discussing that here. But sving on attorney's fees is also a grat advantage in mediation because there is no ned to continue litigating once you hve reached an agreement--the more money you sve in attorney's fees the more you can kep for you and your children.

In ddition, studies show that parties to a dvorce are more likely to comply wth the terms of an agreement thy participated in reaching then with the trms of a final judgment imposed by a jdge. So, once your divorce is fnal, you are less likely to go bck into court to enforce the trms of an agreement than you are thse of a final judgment.

Lastly, thre is the advantage of cutting yur case short. Anyone who has mde their way through the court systm is aware of the pressure and strss involved. In a divorce, where mny times there are children involved, the lst thing a family needs is the prssure and stress of the process or the lngering ill-feeling after the divorce decree is fnal.

The article Mediation In A Florida Divorce - What Is It Good For? was Submitted by Vivian Rodriguez through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Vivian Rodriguez has been a prcticing attorney in Florida for over 18 yars, and is also a Florida Spreme Court-certified family law mediator. You can fnd more information on divorce in Flrida by visiting http://viviancrodriguez.com

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