Why Mediate? Reason #1
Sep 30th, 2008 by admin
There are a number of good reasons to mediate, and I’ll cover what I think are the top three in my next series of posts.
Reason #1 - It gives you control over the outcome. In Washington, the standard for dividing property and liabilities is “fair and equitable”. Sometimes fair is 50/50, sometimes fair is 60/40. When you go in front of a judge, the reality becomes that fair is whatever the judge thinks is fair. (Well, it would be possible to appeal the decision, but that often costs even more money that you spent to get to trial in the first place.)
When you choose to mediate, you are in a position to discuss who gets what asset or debt…and why. You have the freedom to “pause” negotiations in order to get more information, such as financial advice, an appraisal or tax planning tips. As you get new information, or as the situation changes, you can make revised proposals and adapt possible settlements. You can also make deals that fit your own situation, but that a judge wouldn’t ever consider or would outside of his or her power to order.