What Are The Benefits Of Mediation?

Mediation is not applicable to all conflicts but in the majority of cases it is a viable alternative to costly, lengthy and soul destroying litigation.

Mediation itself has been given many names and there are numerous variations of how mediation is put into practice.  Mediation is where a neutral third party (the mediator) sits down with people who are in dispute to isolate and understand the issues, consider the options and reach an agreement which the parties can all accept.  The mediator assists the parties to reach their own agreement.

Mediation is particularly useful in family law disputes about children (called “family dispute resolution” under the Family Law Act) and/or property division.

Why go to court when you can mediate?

Mediation is much less expensive.- Costs of a trial can amount to tens of thousands of dollars in complex family law matters and even in a “simple” property settlement matter the costs from commencement of a matter until a trial of one day can cost $20,000 to $40,000.  Mediation on the other hand may cost as little as $2,000 for a mediation session of three to four hours.

Mediation provides results in a short space of time.  It may take 18 months to get to trial in the Family Court. A mediation can be arranged to occur within one or two weeks.

In mediation the parties feel “empowered”.  Participants in mediation are assisted to reach their own decision as opposed to Court/Judge imposed solutions and are therefore much more likely to comply with the agreement reached.

In mediation there’s a high rate of compliance.  Parties who have reached their own agreement in mediation are also generally more likely to follow through and comply with its terms than where it has been has been imposed by a third party decision-maker.