MEDIATION:

In a normal mediation, the parties meet with a neutral mediator in an attempt to forge mutually acceptable solutions to family law problems. The mediator identifies areas of agreement and disagreement and attempts to guide the parties towards resolution. In fact, a mediator can often guide the parties to creative solutions they would not have been able to develop on their own or through divorce litigation. Mediation can be particularly useful in resolving questions involving child custody and visitation as well as property division. In mediation the parties can also still consult separate independanr attorneys before entering into agreements. Further, the mediator will take care of all of the court paperwork including filing documents with the court. In the end the parties never need to step foot in a courthouse after successful mediation.

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The benefits of mediation are many:
-Rather than letting a judge decide your case, the parties themselves determine the shape and specific details of the solution.
-Divorce mediation produces satisfactory outcomes with much less emotional turmoil. This benefits the parties and other family members, particularly children.
-It is usually much less expensive than litigation, and the parties share the costs.
-Mediation usually produces results much faster than litigation.

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QUASI-MEDIATION:

Unfortunately, mediation can often turn into a forum where parties just vent their frustrations. Parties may have unrealistic expectations about what their rights and obligations are in a divorce. Once they learn that they may not be entitled to as much as they thought or must pay support, they refuse to cooperate in the mediation process. In addition, mediation can be a way that one spouse can take unfair advantage of the other spouse who is not as knowledgeable about the financial facts relevant to their divorce. Many parties after mediation feel that their rights were not protected and were not fully informed having unknowingly given up important rights.

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San Diego Flat Fee Divorce offers an alternative version of mediation called Quasi-mediation where he attempts to settle the matter out of court in a mediation type setting while representing one of the parties. The benefit of this is that if mediation does work out, our attorney can still represent his client in the divorce process, and the client saves fees in bringing in another attorney up to speed. Attorneys who mediate in normal mediation are barred ethically from representing either party in a divorce. If normal mediation fails, the funds expended are wasted. In Quasi-Mediation, those fees are spent more wisely.