Why Choose RSM Mediation Services?
01. COST
Having worked in domestic law firms for a decade and a half I can tell you firsthand that lawyers are expensive! In some cases, family law cases can end up costing tens of thousands of dollars. The expenses only escalate with difficulties such as experts (i.e. Child and Family Investigator, business evaluators, vocational evaluators, appraisers, etc.), disputed parenting time, and valuable assets (i.e. real property, bank accounts, retirement and investment accounts, etc.) and/or debts. If your case goes to litigation, you can easily expect the cost of legal fees to inflate exponentially. This is because closer to a trial, more deadlines are required by the Courts. Exhibits, Joint Trial Management Certificates, updating financial disclosures and other pleadings have to be filed with the Court. For cases with witnesses, a Witness Disclosure is required to be filed with the Court and additional costs may be incurred such as drafting and service of Subpoenas. Mediation is a fraction of the cost of litigation. A successful mediation can leave both parties with more money in their pocket to split rather than spending that money on litigation.
02. AMICABILITY
The best way to avoid litigation in the courthouse (both pre- and post-Decree) is to come to agreements. If a resolution is reached between the parties, each party has a higher probability of follow-through than if a decision is handed to them at a hearing. Specifically if the parties have children, coming to agreements in mediation can have significant and lasting impacts for children whose parents can set aside personal feelings and come to agreements that center their children’s best interests.
03. CONTROL
When agreements are reached in mediation, you put the fate of your separation in your own hands instead of leaving it to the fate of a judicial officer. No matter how seasoned of an attorney you hire, no one can with absolute certainty guarantee the outcome of a hearing. Witnessing a decade and a half of cases go to hearing I can tell you that I have been frankly shocked at the outcome of some hearings. The truth of the matter is that Judges and Magistrates are humans just like any of us and they are not immune from inner biases and errors. You don’t want to put all that is most precious in your life on the line for something that could end up disastrous.
04. CONFIDENTIALITY
It is against the Rules in Colorado for anything in mediation (or any terms of settlement proposals in general) to be brought up at a hearing. In other words, one party cannot get on the witness stand to declare that the other party was close to accepting an offer of waiving maintenance in mediation and therefore should be precluded from receiving maintenance at a hearing. The Rules prohibit these statements in hearings and pleadings in order to promote settlement between parties. If parties were able to use settlement conferences or negotiation conversations as ammunition in Court, it would severely impact a party’s trust that they can actively participate in settlement without penalty. You can trust that the conversations that we have in mediation will remain confidential.
05. WORTH A SHOT!
In Colorado, any party engaging in a domestic relations case is required to attend mediation if they do not otherwise come to a resolution in their case before they can even request a hearing. Even if you are not in a position that you are required to attend mediation, it is important to remember that mediation is not arbitration. In other words, a mediator does not make a determination following a mediation session. They do not weigh evidence or issue a formal decision. Unless an agreement is signed (and often also, unless it is filed with the Court and made an Order of Court), the agreement is not binding. Therefore, you are free to discuss issues at length without being bound to any ideas you come up with unless they are written down and signed by both parties.