Family law mediation is a situation in which a third party is hired to facilitate conversations between two parties seeking child support, spousal support, child custody, divorce terms or child visitation terms. Mediation is often a solution which many individuals working in the family law system seek prior to filing for a court hearing. A mediator does not have the legal ability to render decisions in family law cases nor the ability to enforce a decision made during the mediation. The overall purpose of this process it to render a decision in which both parties involved is satisfied with. A professional mediator does not force a decision to be made nor favor either party, but is trained to encourage productive dialogue between the two parties.