Why do Georgia Courts order most divorce cases to participate in mediation? Because it works!
Litigation applies pressure (time and money) to parties that often makes a settlement look better than waiting on a judge. Courts also find that many cases resolve a large percentage of the issues, leaving them with less work to do. It’s easy to see why courts like mediation, but do the spouses like it, too?
Not every family will reach agreements in divorce mediation. For those that do, it is often because they are emotionally ready to discuss hard topics and have done a lot of preparation ahead of time. The “homework” of divorce involves a lot of number crunching, understanding how likely you are to win or lose at trial on certain issues, and how ready you are to take on the new demands that will be on you (financial independence or transitions, parenting with less control when then kids are away, etc.). It can be scary. It may be scarier to toss these decisions to a judge at some unknown time in the future – a critical reason that mediation works for so many families in transition.
Jennifer Keaton
2StepDivorces.com