Cooperation Goes a Long Way
Video Transcript: What is mediation in a divorce case? Hi, my name is Jason Sorensen. I’m a lawyer in Tulsa at Wirth Law Office. And today we’re going to be talking about mediations in divorce cases.
So mediations are a type of meeting that takes place in a divorce case where the two parties try to agree on the most important terms and get the case settled. Mediations take place with somebody called a mediator. That’s a third party that tries to get both sides to agree on the terms to have the case settled fairly for both sides. But the mediator does not represent either side, they’re not trying to push for one side to win or one side to lose. They’re just trying to get the case settled and trying to relay the wishes and the preferences from one side to the other.
So with mediation, a lot of times the two parties aren’t even in the same room. The mediator just goes from one room to another. Or even nowadays, a lot of times it takes place online over things like Zoom. So the mediator can leave one online room and go to the other to try to relay offers and wishes and desires from one side to the other.
These mediations also can take place with an attorney, so you can have your attorney present to try to help you with that. But in the end, you are the most important person at that mediation because you are the only one that can decide whether or not you want to settle because your attorney can’t decide for you whether you want to settle or not. And it’s your wishes, your desires, your preferences that are important. So if you can get the case settled, then it just stops the case right there.
If the two parties can come to an agreement, then the case doesn’t need to proceed. The parties can save a lot of money in the long run because they don’t have to pay for expensive things like trials, and they can get the case stopped right then and there. So a lot of times it’s in the party’s best interest to settle out at the mediation.
However, a lot of times the other side isn’t willing to give into the things that you want. So maybe they don’t want to give you visitation with your kids, or maybe they don’t want to accept that their visitation is supervised and you just can’t have a meeting of the minds, you guys can’t come to an agreement on those things. And so a lot of times things like trials are necessary so that you can have somebody else actually make the decision for you.
But like I said, a lot of times it is in the party’s best interest to come to an agreement right then and there so that they don’t have a third party making the decision for them. And it also saves both parties a lot of money in the end so that the parents can spend more money on themselves or their kids. So a lot of times it is a lot better if people can settle it right there at the mediation. But this is just general information.
If you want more information on mediations, visit makelaweasy.com. Or if you need help with a divorce case, give us a call at Wirth Law Office to speak with an Oklahoma divorce attorney.
