Using Mediation in your Divorce Case

The statistic is that nearly half of all marriages in the United States end in divorce; Utah is no different. Some divorces are amicable and the parties can come together to work out an agreement. Others involve high levels of conflict.

Did you know that the State of Utah requires divorcing couples to participate in at least one session of mediation, which is a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR).  ADR can help couples avoid costly court battles and exercise greater autonomy throughout the process. The ADR process can involve mediation or arbitration.

How Mediation can Help

Mediation is different from arbitration.  Unlike arbitration, mediation does not involve an adversarial proceeding in front of a neutral arbitrator (or panel of arbitrators).  Instead, the parties to a mediation are brought together, with a neutral facilitator (mediator) acting as a go-between among the assembled parties.  The mediator’s job is to assist the parties to come to a compromise agreement regarding their dispute.  For those parties and their attorneys who have come to a seeming impasse or standstill in litigation, mediation may be an advantageous way to break through the conflict and come together to resolve a case in a less adversarial setting than a courtroom.

While mediation will not work for everyone, a skilled mediator can help you and your future ex-spouse engage in more positive dialogue – and make key decisions together about child custody, alimony, property division, and other matters.

More specifically, when an Answer is filed in response to a divorce complaint (petition), all remaining contested issues are referred to mediation. Parties are required to participate in at least one session of mediation and attempt to resolve the issues in dispute. Parties must participate in mediation before the case can move forward in the court system unless they are excused from the mediation requirement for good cause. This requirement does not preclude the entry of pretrial (temporary) orders.

The benefits of mediation include:

  1. You directly participate in finding solutions to the issues in dispute;
  2. Mediation allows you to resolve your case more quickly;
  3. Mediation is less expensive;
  4. Mediation promotes relationships and you will end the process with a better relationship with your former spouse; and
  5. Mediation is less stressful than court

Parties are responsible for identifying and paying a mediator to provide this service. Unless otherwise ordered by the court or agreed by the parties, the cost of mediation will be divided equally between the parties. The mediator who provides these services must be qualified on the ADR Court Roster to provide Divorce Mediation in accordance with Section 78-31b-5.

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