By nature, the traditional courtroom experience is adversarial. Litigation tends to pit one side against the other. That may be okay under certain circumstances, but when it comes to Michigan parents getting a divorce, this could prove catastrophic.
Parents need to continue working together despite the end of their marriages. “Battling” in a courtroom over custody of the children is not a good way to begin a new chapter in the life of a family. If you find yourself thinking the same thing, you may want to try mediating your child custody issues instead.
How mediation can help your family
Mediation is an alternative way to resolve issues between parties in dispute. While you may not technically be in a “dispute” with the other parent, you do have to work out how you will parent your children after the divorce. As you can imagine, this is often a highly emotionally charged issue. In most cases, both parents want as much time with the children as possible, and you are more than likely no exception. Below are the most common ways that mediation can help you and your family:
- Mediation removes the tendency to play “the blame game.” When going to court, people have a tendency to focus on the other person’s faults in order to gain an edge, which is not productive when it comes to custody.
- Mediation encourages you and the other parent to get past or put aside your differences and work together, which could help you build an amicable foundation for the future.
- Mediation put the focus on your family’s future, instead of on the past.
- Mediation allows you to create the future you want for your family. Unlike going to court, you can look outside the box for solutions that work best for your family.
- Mediation helps you deal with conflict. Disagreements are inevitable since you will never always agree, and knowing ways to resolve those issues amicably can only help.
- Mediation reduces stress since it is not an adversarial process. For this reason, it also makes the process easier on your children.
Another major benefit of mediation is that you and the other parent retain control over the outcome. In addition, because the two of you created your agreement, you are both more likely to follow through with it. Finally, mediation is often easier on your bank account. Adding to all of the other negatives regarding litigation, it is often quite expensive. Some parents have no choice but to go to court. If you have the opportunity to avoid it, you could find yourself in a win-win situation.