1
Mediation Saves Money
Mediation costs a fraction of what a litigated divorce costs. If you are fighting about money, why do you want to spend all of your money fighting about it? Some people say that they are doing it "on principle", but they are not. They have unresolved emotional issues. A therapist plus mediation still costs a fraction of a contested divorce, and at the end, hopefully, the emotional issues are resolved too.
2
Mediation Saves Emotional Wear and Tear
Even more valuable than money is your sanity! Constant fighting and court appearances will keep you on "high alert". It will wear you down. The longer it lasts the worse it gets. Mediation saves that priceless emotional wear and tear. Also in custody cases, the parties still have to work together after the court case ends. How can you do that after you have just spent months or years trashing each other in court?
3
You Control Your Destiny in Mediation
Unlike contested cases in which a judge makes all of the decisions about the rest of your life, you are in charge, You formulate a plan that works for you rather than submit yourself to some formula devised by a complete stranger who may or not have been paying attention while the case was being presented. All people are unique. All families are unique. Courts rarely take the time to consider this. Going to court carries with it the possibility that both sides will be displeased with the result!
4
Mediation Saves Time
Everyone knows the horror stories. The divorce case that drags on for years. That cost thousands and thousands of dollars. The custody cases that bounce around from court to court and never seem to be resolved. Whose fault is that? You can blame the legal system if you want, but you entered into it. It is an imperfect system, at best. It is not a substitute for good parenting and never was designed to be. In mediation, the parties sit down together with a neutral third party and get down to business. They are there to make things work, so it takes a lot less time!
5
Mediation Is Confidential and Private
Everything said or presented in mediation is confidential, and the meeting is conducted in private. Court hearings take place in public courtrooms with whoever happens to be on the docket that day sitting around listening (No, the day usually is not devoted just to YOU!).
6
Preserve Your Dignity With Mediation
Court is about winning and losing. You go there for a fight. Routinely, the fight gets "down and dirty". You say and do things that you never thought that you would do or say and the same goes for the other party. And you do it in public. Preserve your dignity. Mediate!
