What is a Mediator’s Role in Your Divorce?

If you are unfamiliar with the process of divorce mediation, you might be wondering what the mediator’s job is during your sessions.

There is a misconception that the mediator is present to determine what a fair agreement looks like. However, this is not the case—a mediator is not a judge or arbitrator, and has no power to make decisions regarding your case. Instead, the mediator is tasked with guiding the conversation, helping you both remain open and working on negotiation strategies, and occasionally offering suggestions on how to work through your issues if you get stuck.

Here’s an overview of what you should know.

The work of a divorce mediator

Any experienced mediator will be fully versed in your state’s divorce laws. While they will not provide you with any legal advice during the course of your divorce, they will help you navigate your state’s divorce laws and keep you informed about how specific issues might be resolved if they were to go to court.

This knowledge mediators have and information they can provide their clients can help encourage spouses to really put a full effort into mediation. It is always worth reminding spouses of the potential pitfalls their cases could face in the courtroom setting, and that adds a sense of urgency to mediation and often creates a greater willingness to compromise. Most spouses will want to have some element of control over their divorce, rather than leaving the most crucial decisions up to a judge who does not know them or their children.

Ultimately, if mediation appears to be going nowhere and the mediator has exhausted all strategies for working past roadblocks, the mediator will have the power to end the session and request the couple to go to court to resolve the issues.

For more information about the mediator’s responsibilities in your sessions, contact an experienced Long Island divorce lawyer at Solutions Divorce Mediation.