Mediation is the process in which parties attempt to reach agreement and resolve disputes, divide property, and determine child custody issues using a Rhode Island mediator.
The purpose of the mediation process is an attempt to reduce a long, contentious, and costly court battle in Rhode Island Family Court. A mediator is a neutral third party who seeks to facilitate an agreement or compromise rather than decide the case. Rhode Island Family Court judges decide cases. Rhode Island divorce lawyers advocate for the best interests of their clients and seek to ensure that their client has the best disposition possible.
Mediators are neutral and try to facilitate an agreement between the parties. A mediator is similar to an arbitrator. A mediator seeks to facilitate creative solutions to problems, disputes, and feuds. Mediation happens in a lawyer’s conference room, not a courtroom, and should be less stressful than a contested divorce or child custody battle.
Mediation should be less expensive than a contested RI divorce. Mediation allows you to resolve your Divorce, Child Custody Dispute or Family Law Case on your schedule, not Court hours. Mediation is usually much less time consuming than a contested divorce. Mediation allows you to reach a mutually agreed result instead of having a provision imposed on you.
Mediation sessions can also occur in the midst of a contested RI divorce where both parties have a Rhode Island divorce or family court case or family attorneys representing them. The parties may meet with the mediator in the middle of the divorce and seek to obtain a compromise that the Lawyers/Solicitors could not achieve. In some divorce cases, it becomes increasingly obvious that it is the lawyers who are fighting more than the clients and it is the lawyers who seem to need a “divorce.”
The Rhode Island divorce process can be destructive for children and parties.
A contested divorce can involve endless bickering between the parties and the attorneys in Family Court. There are often petty disputes and disputes that occur in Providence, Kent, Washington, and Newport Family Court. There is often an endless wait for a court hearing or trial that may never happen. There are often endless court dates and non-stop adjournments. The divorce process can be a long, drawn-out battle involving a large amount of legal fees, countless court appearances, and an incredible amount of stress.
Mediation allows parties to bypass the costly and often stressful process of attorneys competing for influence. Mediation is a way to avoid endless court appearances, endless adjournments, waiting in court
The unfortunate reality is that often the parties could have reached the same resolution of their disputes at the beginning of the case through the mediation process without the huge combined legal bill, lost work days and stress.
The mediation process can help parents learn how to co-parent and come up with a visitation schedule or custody plan on their own terms.
Many parties should at least try mediation as a way to try to resolve their divorce on their own terms. Mediation allows the parties to agree to resolve their disputes instead of allowing the judge to make the decision.
Divorce is usually not a “win or lose” process. Rhode Island is an equitable division of property state. Therefore, no one generally “wins” outright in a Rhode Island divorce. A mediator can help parties reach an equitable division of Real Estate, Pensions, 401k, boats, cars, businesses, property, cd’s, marital debts.
-Stop the madness
– Put an end to the “divorce war”,
-Reduce out-of-control legal fees,
-Divorce with Dignity,
-Protect your children from the adverse consequences of a contested divorce,
– Invest in the process,
-At least try to reach an amicable agreement before the Divorce battle begins.
If the parties cannot agree and are not willing to make at least some concessions to their positions/claims, mediation may not work. If the mediation is successful, Rhode Island mediator David Slepkow will write a memorandum of understanding or parenting plan.
Legal notice to lawyers under the RI Rules of Professional Responsibility:
The Rhode Island Supreme Court licenses all attorneys in the general practice of law, but does not license or certify any attorney as an expert or specialist in any field of practice.