WARNING! Beware of Mediation Firms Offering “One-Stop Shopping”

There has been a disturbing trend recently in the number of mediation firms offering to help mediate your divorce then draft your property settlement and then help get it through the court system. It may seem like a good idea as they offer flat fee arrangements and the convenience of not having to seek a separate lawyer and instead use the person who mediated your divorce but consider this. By definition mediators are neutral third parties who represent neither party. Attorneys by definition are advocates who represent only one party. How can a person claim to be a “neutral third party mediator” for one part of your divorce and then an advocate for only one of you for another part of your divorce!? Which one of you gets represented? What happens to the fairness of the agreement? Was the mediator actually biased against one of you knowing that in the end they would end up representing only one of you in the next phase of your divorce so they misguided you or worse yet lied to you to bring you to an unfavorable result? What happens if you have to go to court in the future? How much is your “flat fee divorce” going to wind up really costing you?

Be sure to seek an Accredited Professional Mediator like myself whose only job is to see that both of you come to an agreement that you both feel is fair and equitable. I’ve got no hidden agendas, no bias for either party and won’t try and get you to agree to something you’re not comfortable with and isn’t that what mediation is really all about?