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What is Divorce Mediation?
Divorce mediation is when both you and your spouse hire a third party neutral mediator to meet with you to discuss and resolve the issues of a divorce. It can be a used as a tool to help speed up a divorce process or talk over some mutual issues between you and your spouse.
In Canada, 41% of marriages end up in a divorce. Most of these divorces will be handled by divorce lawyers but in a study by “The Canadian Research Institute for Law and the Family”, 80.5% of clients would rather prefer mediation over a divorce litigation.
Why Mediation?
Most people prefer mediation because of mainly 3 factors:
- It is effective
- It is faster
- It is cheaper
Low conflict disputes are cases that would be the most efficient in a mediation process. If both parties have a mutual respect then choosing mediation is a great alternative from litigation.
It is Effective
In the study by “The Canadian Research Institute for Law and the Family”, 96% of clients felt that mediation is the best mechanism in dealing with Child Disputes. In most cases, both parties would want the best interest in mind for the child and by having a mediator it will help both the spouses find the best solution for their child. Which is why 76% of clients feel that mediation would formalize their custody and access arrangements.
Lawyers in Canada feel the same way about mediation as well. With 79.6% of lawyers preferring mediation over litigation for family matters. It is effective for both the lawyers and clients and 90.2% of the time will result in the client’s interest which makes everyone happy.
It is Faster
The average divorce litigation can take up to 24 months to come to a settlement. Based on the study by “The Canadian Research Institute for Law and the Family”, mediation can take only up to 5.8 months on low conflict disputes. Mediation is a voluntary process with both parties wanting to come to agreement as fast as possible, so skipping all those long legal processes can cut your time by more than a half.
It is Cheaper
The average cost of a contested divorce litigation is $12,875 while the average cost of a mediation is $4,423. Mediation costs are about 3 times less than contested divorce litigations. Mediations are more cost effective because they are faster to resolve and will not take up as much time.
When to Choose Mediation
Choosing a mediation can be right for you if:
- It is a low conflict dispute
- You need a fast resolution
- You need a cost effective alternative
- It is a non-contested divorce and mutually decided
- The divorce doesn’t have domestic violence involved
If both you and your spouse have an agreement and want the best interest for yourself and child then choosing mediation would be the ideal choice.
Sources
https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/fl-lf/famil/2001_11/pdf/2001_11.pdf httpss://s3.amazonaws.com/tld-documents.llnassets.com/0006000/6134/cost-implication-of-family-law-disputes.pdf httpss://ca.finance.yahoo.com/blogs/pay-day-/real-cost-divorce-canada-162656430.html
