MN Family Law Attorney Divorce Mediation

MN Divorce Mediation

Are you going through a family law proceeding in Minnesota? Do you want to avoid adversarial processes and court hearings? Do you want to be treated respectfully in a process that you control? If yes, you owe it to yourself to consider divorce mediation first.

Divorce mediation is attracting considerable attention in the legal community as a successful means of resolving disputes in divorce that can reduce both the economic and emotional costs to the parties.

One of the reasons mediation produces such good results is because it takes the decision-making authority out of the court’s hands and places it in the hands of the people it matters to the most. It also creates a non-confrontational environment where the parties can work together to resolve their issues and come to a respectful, negotiated agreement.

The divorce mediation process can be used to reach agreement on all issues required for divorce, or it can focus only on specific issues such as finances or child custody. The length of the process is dependent upon the complexity of each unique situation.

Mediation reduces hostilities and is able to address the emotional aspects of divorce which the traditional court structure is not able to accommodate.

In the state of Minnesota, it is your responsibility to at least attempt to settle your case through the use of ADR and a qualified neutral. The MN ADR Brochure is provided by the State of MN. It explains Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).

Avoiding the courtroom also means fewer costs for the parties since it reduces litigation expenses. It also allows the spouses greater control over the situation by granting them a larger say in the selection of the individual who will be deciding the issues in the dispute ( the mediator).

If mediation does not result in an agreement, the parties are free to pursue whatever course of action is available to them – most often with a clearer understanding of the facts, the issues, and the positions of the other parties.

MN Court of Appeals Using Divorce Mediation to Decrease Conflict, Reduce Costs

As of September 2, 2008, the Minnesota Court of Appeals started referring all family court appeals for mandatory mediation (with some exceptions for cases involving, for example, domestic violence). The program was designed as an alternative to the traditional court system to decrease costs and conflict for families involved in appellate cases while increasing litigant satisfaction.

Upon the filing of a Notice of Appeal, the Court would immediately refer litigants to mediation.

Mediation Is a “Win-Win” Situation

This pilot program was initiated five years ago as the result of a meeting between Judge Harriet Lansing and William Mitchell College of Law Vice Dean for Academic Programs Nancy Ver Steegh.  The Chief Judge of the Minnesota Court of Appeals, Edward Touissant, believes the program is here to stay, calling it a “win-win” situation.

A few other states have adopted similar programs, with a resolution rate as high as 76 percent. That’s an impressive statistic, given the adversarial mindset of litigants – especially following a trial.

We’ve seen clients benefit tremendously from the trend toward resolving family disputes through mediation. This new mandatory appellate mediation has resulted in additional justification for working with a Minnesota mediator in the very early stages of litigation and avoiding unnecessary fees, costs, time and emotion.

About Author

Jennifer graduated from the University of Minnesota cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in speech communications. In 2006, Jennifer achieved her life’s dream; owning her own Family Law MN practices. She practices every day as Divorce Attorney MN with the intention of representing her clients’ future.