Navigating family law disputes can be a challenging and emotional journey. For many families in Texas, mediation offers a more amicable, cost-effective, and efficient alternative to traditional litigation. This blog explores the benefits of mediation over litigation in Texas family law.
What is Mediation?
Mediation is a voluntary process where a neutral third party, known as a mediator, facilitates communication between disputing parties to help them reach a mutually agreeable solution. Unlike litigation, which involves a judge making decisions, mediation empowers the parties to negotiate and settle their differences collaboratively and enables them to make agreements that may otherwise unlikely be ordered in Court.
Key Benefits of Mediation
- Cost-Effective Mediation is generally less expensive than litigation, as mediation usually involves fewer sessions and a faster resolution, reducing the financial burden on both parties.
- Time-Saving Litigation can drag on for months or even years due to the backlog of cases in the court system. Mediation can often be scheduled quickly and concluded in a matter of weeks or months, providing a faster path to resolution.
- Confidentiality Unlike court proceedings, which are typically public record, mediation is a private process. This confidentiality can be crucial for families who wish to keep their personal matters out of the public eye.
- Focus on the Best Interest of the Child Mediation can allow parents to prioritize what is in the best interest of the child, allowing parents to work together to create a parenting plan that meets their child’s unique needs.
- Third Party Neutral Mediator Mediators can help offer different perspectives to the parties involved, offering a more neutral and maybe even more realistic perspective. Oftentimes, mediators previously acted as judges themselves, so they have unique insight into the judicial system that can help the parties reach an agreement.
Example: Possession Schedule – SPO vs. 50/50
One example of how mediation can enable you to make arrangements that a Court may not make is the possession schedule. While some parents may prefer a 50/50 custody arrangement, where the child spends equal time with each parent, Texas courts do not automatically presume this to be in the child’s best interest. Instead, the Standard Possession Order is often considered more suitable as it provides stability and predictability, crucial factors in a child’s upbringing, which typically allows the noncustodial parent visitation rights that include the first, third, and fifth weekends of each month, Thursday evenings during the school year, and extended time during holidays and summer vacations.
However, in mediation, the parties may agree to a 50/50 possession schedule or a different schedule that is more suitable and unique to the family’s needs.
For families facing legal disputes in Texas, mediation offers a host of benefits over traditional litigation. It is a cost-effective, time-saving, and confidential process that allows families to maintain control over their outcomes and reduce conflict. Mediation provides a platform for parties to collaborate with one another on all matters, including on a parenting plan that prioritizes the child’s best interest, potentially leading to more harmony in the future. Given these advantages, mediation is definitely an option worth considering.
