MEDIATION ADVOCACY

In the mediation process, the parties act as their own negotiators and decision makers, with the mediator helping to structure a productive approach and providing technical and practical information. Because the parties determine the standards on which a settlement is based, their own sense of fairness becomes the predominant basis for decisions. The parties work collaboratively, increasing the possibility of an agreement that is mutually beneficial. Mediation may be appropriate in any situation in which differences must be resolved. In the marital dissolution context, mediation can help resolve the issues necessary to reach an interim agreement before settlement, to achieve a complete marital settlement agreement, and to negotiate postdissolution issues.