In a perfect world, everyone who enters the legal system gets along and either agree or will amicably work together to reach an agreement.   In reality that is not the case.  The Family court is filled with cases where people disagree and refuse to compromise and it is up to the judge to decide for everyone.

Before the judge wants to get involved in the matter they order that the parties attend mediation to see if a third party can work with the parties and help them reach an agreement.

Mediation is a meeting where everyone involved in the lawsuit, the petitioner (the person who filed the lawsuit) and the respondent (the person who was named by the petitioner to answer in the lawsuit) are ordered to  meet with a mediator (a person who specializes in conflict resolution) to see if talking things out will help the petitioner and the respondent to find common ground and agree on the issues at hand.  This will take place at a meeting room at the law office of the mediator and the mediator will hear what everyone feels are the issues and helps the parties come to an agreement.

Mediation brings a safe and confidential opportunity for a third party mediator to help you convince the other party that they should consider agreeing with how you feel the matter should be resolved.  On the other hand, the mediator will take the concerns and wishes of the other party and present the reasons why you should consider why they might be right.  The mediator is independent of both parties.  He is not on either person’s side.  He is on the side of compromise and just wants everyone to find common ground and agree on the issues and move on.

What happens in mediation is not etched in stone.   The agreements made in mediation are not final.  If one or both of the parties go home and change their minds as to what they agreed to in mediation, all that needs to be done is to tell their attorney and the change will be reversed.

Keep in mind that mediation is a very good idea and you need to go into the mediation with an open mind and the willingness to work things out.  If you are involved in a family legal matter in Missouri court and you and the other party have legal issues that are unresolved you need help finding a way to effectively communicate and figure out a way to make it work and move forward which is exactly why mediation is part of the legal process.

What if mediation fails?  If mediation doesn’t resolve the issues the matter will proceed to trial where a judge will hear evidence and then make a decision to resolve the issue once and for all.Let’s say you attend mediation and one or both of you continue to disagree on the issues, such as who should have physical custody of the children, and no matter what the mediator presents as a solution, you both will not agree or find a way to compromise;   this means that a judge will decide which parent gets physical custody of the child at trial.

RS Law works with you and with the attorney representing the opposing party to settle the outstanding issues before trial.  However, RS Law will be ready to present evidence to convince the judge that your opinion of the issue needs to be resolved is the one that the judge should agree with and ultimately rule in your favor.

Mediation is a tool used to help an unreasonable party to reconsider their position so the matter is resolved by the parties and not resolved by a judge at trial.

The cost of mediation is usually divided equally between the two parties.