What are your options for Divorce Dispute Resolution?

1. Litigation is the most commonly recognized form of dispute resolution.  The parties take their dispute before a judge in a court of law, who hears evidence in an adversarial setting and makes a decision, which is imposed on the parties.  This is often thought of as a “win-lose” situation in which neither party is completely satisfied in the long term.  Not all cases end up in court as many Lawyers will resolve the issues before trial.  The downside to litigation is self-explanatory and usually results in 2 or more years in the system.

2. Arbitration is a process in which the parties agree to submit their dispute to a mutually acceptable, independent, neutral third party (or sometimes a panel of three such neutrals).  The arbitrator or panel of arbitrators will hear arguments, review evidence and render a decision.  The parties usually agree beforehand to be bound by this decision.

3. Collaborative law is a process for divorcing couples that need strong legal representation but would like to avoid litigation.  In a collaborative divorce, couples and their attorneys agree in advance not to litigate. The husband and wife and both of their attorneys agree to a set of ground rules for negotiation based upon mutual respect and honesty.  The major drawback is this: since the process still involves lawyers trained in position bargaining, you can spend a great deal of money on legal fees before you arrive at a settlement; and if you can’t reach a satisfactory settlement and need to go to court after all, you have to start back at the beginning with new lawyers.

4. Mediation

• Negotiation – two parties reach a mutually agreeable settlement through the culmination of interactive informational exchanges.  A need is identified which leads to communication and the adjustment of positions until agreement is reached.

• Assisted Negotiation – third parties such as lawyers, negotiation on behalf of the parties to a conflict to reach an agreement.  This agreement may be imposed upon the disputants if the third parties have the power to bind them or the agreement may be tentative and subject to the approval of the parties to the conflict.

• Traditional Mediation – parties to a conflict agree to a neutral, impartial third party whom assists them in reaching a solution by creating an environment, which fosters co-operation and communication.  This leads the parties to satisfying negotiations.  If the disputants cannot reach an agreement, they are free to pursue other action.

• Facilitative Mediation – searches for underlying interests and helps find and analyze options for resolution.  The emphasis lies on making sure the disputing parties come to an agreement on their own.

• Evaluative Mediation (aka settlement style mediation) – focuses on the legal rights of the parties rather than their interests. (Usually lawyers)

• Transformative Mediation – focuses more on relationships, role of mediator help the conflicted parties recognize each others values, interest and points of views, empowerment and recognition.

• Narrative Mediation – focuses less on negotiation and more on how people make sense of the world, by telling stories and giving them meaning people construct their own realities.

• Interest Based Mediation – shifts from position-based wants, to interest based needs.  Both parties sit together at the same table and have occasional independent meetings called Caucuses.

*Caucus Based mediation – whereby meetings are held separately with each side of the dispute as part of the mediation process.        

5. Party Directed Mediation is a mediation approach that seeks to empower each party in a dispute, enabling each party to have more direct influence upon the resolution of a conflict, by offering both means and processes for enhancing the negotiation skills of contenders.  The intended prospect of party-directed mediation is to improve upon the ability and willingness of disputants to deal with subsequent differences.

6. Independently Negotiated Resolution is a strategic resolution based process taking ‘Party Directed Mediation’ to an entirely different level. You negotiate a solution using a step-by-step strategic model.  The Parties move through the process independently of each other to ensure that they are both empowered decision makers.  Each partner meets independently with a qualified Negotiator / Mediator, with high financial acumen, who maintains a neutral position between the two Parties.   The Negotiators / Mediators do not represent either Party, rather they work with both Parties to find a “fair” outcome.  This process leaves the Parties free to focus on making sound financial and parenting decision without feeling intimidated or threatened by traditional position bargaining. The Negotiator / Mediator focuses his or her attention on bringing the Parties to final resolution ensuring that the outcome is fair to all.   The step-by-step process of Independently Negotiated Resolution helps ensure that couples are focused on issues in a timely and efficient manner without getting bugged down with back and forth correspondence and court threats.   Independently Negotiated Resolution is a process committed to achieving resolution in a timely fashion that reduces cost and stress.  The model is set out to deal with children and money separately and has resulted in helping people transition to new beginnings and assets and relationships in tact.  The model uses a common sense approach by first negotiating the value of the assets, then negotiating the division of the assets.  Then and only then a comprehensive co-parenting plan is developed that works for the entire family.   This simple rule will transform your experience of divorce and dramatically reduce your cost.  This strategic mediation model empowers decision makers and focuses on resolution.  Learn more about this innovative approach

7. Do It Yourself (DIY) is a method, which involves the resolution of the dispute by the parties to the disagreement without the assistance of third parties.  A mutually satisfying agreement may be reached by positive means such as open communication and good negotiation skills.  Or a resolution may be achieved through negative means such as violence, intimidation, the exploitation of existing power imbalances or by mere avoidance.