The Role of Mediation in Family Law Cases

 “Can’t we just mediate this?” For those going through a family law matter in Illinois, this may be a question that sounds familiar. Indeed, for family law cases that involve children, mediation is often required by the Court prior to proceeding to litigation on co-parenting issues. For cases involving financial issues, the option of mediation may also be an attractive topic of discussion to avoid a lengthy and expensive litigation process. What is a mediator, what does the mediation process look like, and is it a good fit for your case?

A mediator is a trained, neutral third party who is either appointed by the Court or hired by the parties. The mediator can assist both sides of a law case and come to an agreement regarding outstanding issues, if possible, in an effort to avoid or reduce litigation on those issues. In family law, these issues can involve co-parenting issues and financial issues. A mediator can meet with the parties, or the parties together with their attorneys, if desired.

The mediation process can be initiated by an agreement at any stage during a family law case, or it can be required by the Court where there are outstanding co-parenting issues. During the mediation process, the mediator assists the parties to define the outstanding issues to be mediated, to facilitate communication regarding those issues, to help the parties brainstorm potential solutions to the those issues, and ideally, to help the parties come to agreements on those issues. Mediation can result in full agreement on the outstanding issues, partial agreement on the issues, or no agreement on the issues. Any agreement reached in mediation must be voluntary by the parties and is reduced to a memorandum of understanding that is carefully drafted by the mediator, reviewed by the parties, and signed by the parties. Communications during mediation are kept confidential and out-of-Court. Mediators only report to the Court as to whether mediation took place, whether a full or partial agreement was reached, and who attended mediation. The agreements reached in mediation can then be entered as a binding Court Order.

The mediation process works best when both parties are willing to engage with and are open to the process. It allows parties to avoid the time and expense of litigation, which is often attractive to those involved in family law cases. It often allows both parties to feel heard by each other. It also allows parties to come together to brainstorm and select creative solutions to issues which they believe best fit the needs of their family, as opposed to allowing a Judge to make decisions for them. Mediation agreements between parties also generally have a higher likelihood of being followed and honored by the parties, as opposed to Court Orders which the parties have less control over.

If you would like more information on this topic, please contact the author, trained mediator and family law attorney Colleen M. Breems, at 312-888-4112 or cbreems@lavellelaw.com.