When Is Divorce Mediation Binding?

Private Mediation

The only form of divorce mediation that is genuinely non binding and likely to highly benefit the divorcing couple is private mediation. The best type of private divorce mediation is that conducted by an accountant or financial advisor who can help a couple understand the financial costs of breaking up a family and the amount of money that likely will remain to live on after the marriage is dissolved.

If that kind of mediation is not an option then a couple can have mediation sessions conducted by divorce attorneys representing each spouse. These kinds of divorce mediation sessions cost money but can also serve to save money in the long run. The main advantage is privacy. Financial and emotional details of the marital breakdown are not aired in a public courtroom for the world to observe and permanently document.

Court Ordered Mediation

Court ordered mediation sessions to settle issues such as spousal support, child support and child custody issues will generally be conducted free of financial cost but they should never be considered free of cost. Court ordered divorce mediation is not overtly binding but it is in truth extremely binding.

The mediator is a court employee who after the mediation sessions will make recommendations concerning your case directly to the judge handling your divorce and the recommendations of the mediator usually thereafter are turned into case related judicial orders. Where the court ordered mediation results are subsequently enforced by court orders there sessions should be considered as binding by participants and treated according. Bring a lawyer with you to a court ordered mediation session or spend a large amount of money trying to contest the recommendations of the mediator later while trying to contest the subsequent court order based on those recommendations.

Binding Arbitration

Binding arbitration is not another form of mediation. Binding arbitration is another form of alternative dispute resolution as is mediation. Lots of couples get mediation and arbitration mixed up. Both can be used in the process of dissolving a marriage. Binding arbitration is divorce outside of a public courtroom. The laws of evidence basically are not applied but the parties do present witnesses and can be represented by attorneys. The parties are asked to agree by contract that the decision of the arbitrator will be binding and therefore it is generally recognized by a court as binding.

Talk to a Divorce Lawyer

If you are considering dissolving your marriage using a form of mediation or other form of alternative dispute resolution it would be extremely important to discuss the circumstances of the divorce with a divorce attorney before appearing at any alternative dispute resolution session.

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