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Family Law Mediation Services provides mediation services to people in the Las Vegas Nevada area who are involved in family law disputes. This includes divorce (including alimony & property & debt division), child custody, and child support.
All mediators are trained, certified mediators with a legal background and training. Each mediator has different skills. When selecting a mediator, review the mediator bio page to learn more about each mediator and to try to select one that works best for your situation.
Who needs Mediation services?
Anyone who is looking for an alternative to the court system to settle their family law dispute. While some people in family law disputes will never agree on anything and need a Judge to make all their decisions, others are open to sitting down with a third party and working towards a resolution.
What are the benefits of Mediation?
Family law is very interpersonal. Because of this, family law cases are often good candidates for mediation. Money lawsuits usually involve “splitting the pie” and can have limited options for settlement. On the other hand, family law disputes often allow for creative solutions because there is usually more than just money at stake. Also, cases that involve child custody usually have parents who will have to co-parent together for years to come. Parties who agree on a settlement in mediation are much more likely to be satisfied with that outcome and abide by the agreement than people who go to court and have a judge make decisions.
What happens in Mediation?
Mediation is not an opportunity for you to convince the mediator you are right. The mediator does not take sides. The mediator’s role is to facilitate settlement by working with all parties to reach a resolution. Every mediator has a different style but typically the mediator meets with everyone in the same room to start the mediation. From there, the mediator will either keep the parties together in the same room or might eventually separate the parties and float back and forth from each room. The goal of the mediation is to find common ground, develop creative solutions, and leave with an agreement in place.
How do I prepare for Mediation?
After getting basic information about your dispute, we will provide mediation brief instructions or provide a questionnaire to fill out prior to mediation. This will alert the mediator to each sides viewpoint as well as provide the necessary background information.
If I do not settle in Mediation, will it hurt my case?: Mediation is confidential. This means that anything that is said in mediation cannot be used against you later in your court case. An example of this is if a party makes a concession in an attempt to settle during mediation and the settlement does not happen, the other party is not allowed to introduce that in court (ex. He said in mediation he did not even want joint custody).
Is a Mediation settlement enforceable?
Yes. When the parties reach a settlement in mediation we encourage the settlement to be reduced to writing in some fashion before the parties leave mediation. Even if it is not an entire settlement agreement, the parties can sign a memorandum of settlement outlining the main points. Even though the mediation is confidential, any signed agreement coming from mediation can be introduced in court to enforce the agreement. This could be true even for a verbal agreement.
Do I need an attorney for Mediation?
No. Our mediation services are geared towards both represented and unrepresented parties. The focus of mediation is coming to an agreement, not making legal arguments. People looking to advocate to a judge go to court. With that in mind, sometimes lawyers can even get in the way during mediation because lawyers tend to advocate (most lawyers do understand mediation, though). All of our mediators have a family law background and can help parties without attorneys understand legal terms and laws.
What is the cost of Mediation?
The cost varies based on the time requested as well as the mediator. Please review our rates page for more information.
How do arrange a Mediation session?
Both parties must agree to attend mediation. If this is the case, you can arrange a mediation session by contacting our office. We will prepare a mediation engagement agreement for both parties to sign. The parties select a mediation time length and select a date. Prior to the mediation each party supplies a mediation brief or answers a questionnaire supplied by us.
If I do not settle in Mediation, will it hurt my case?
Mediation is confidential. This means that anything that is said in mediation cannot be used against you later in your court case. An example of this is if a party makes a concession in an attempt to settle during mediation and the settlement does not happen, the other party is not allowed to introduce that in court (ex. He said in mediation he did not even want joint custody).