Family Law Mediation

Mediation is not only for parenting related issues. In fact, many court require all aspects of your divorce, legal separation, paternity, or modification action to be mediated before they will give you a date for trial or final hearing. With that said, the Nebraska Parenting Act requires parents to work together to negotiate a parenting plan. If the parties are unable to do so, the court is required to order the parties to participate in mediation in an attempt to resolve their differences. At least initially, the courts generally divide the costs of mediation equally between the parties. If ongoing disputes require significant mediation and one or other of the parties is being difficult or obstructive, the court may reallocate some of these costs. Although this Firm is supportive of mediators and their efforts to deal with families involved in the divorce process, not all mediators are equally qualified.

Our office has found that the best and most effective mediators are those persons who have had significant experience litigating custody and parenting time issues as well as significant experience in negotiating and mediating disputes in these areas. The attorneys in our office have the background and significant familiarity with the judges who will be deciding disputes and can provide invaluable information about the courts and judges who may be called upon to decide a dispute if it cannot be successfully mediated.

Mediation can be done with or without attorneys. The mediation process without attorneys is done by the hiring of a lawyer, who doesn’t represent either party, but prepares legal documents for filing with the court and assists the parties in resolving all issues of their family law matter without going to court or being involved in litigation. This typically includes having the mediator prepare documents to finalize the matter once an agreement has been reached. If the parties are represented by attorneys, our office is available for your mediation needs and can be either you or your attorney to assist with your mediation needs.