Mediation is a process that can help people resolve a dispute. The mediation process is confidential and voluntary and allows people to speak directly with each other. Mediation helps parties explore options for resolving their dispute and communicate more effectively with each other.
Mediation can be helpful in resolving disputes such as divorce settlement or family matters. The Calgary divorce mediator does not decide the outcome of your case — you do. However, the mediator will help guide you through the process so that you can reach an agreement that works for both sides.
The following are some examples of good questions that you might ask during a mediation session:
Your Goals For This Mediation?
This question is an excellent place to start your mediation. If both parties are clear about their goals, they can better evaluate whether they were met at the end of the session.
2. What Will Help You Achieve Your Goals?
Once each party has stated their goals, it’s important to determine what will help them achieve those goals. This may be something as simple as clarity on certain issues or more complex items like payment plans or property division.
3. The Obstacles To Resolving The Dispute?
This question helps both parties identify any potential obstacles so that they don’t waste valuable time trying to overcome them when they could be working on other issues instead. It also gives both sides an opportunity to share concerns or issues that might make resolution more difficult for them, which is helpful for building trust between the two sides.
4. Benefits To Litigation Vs Mediation?
Litigation is a highly adversarial process and involves many steps before reaching a resolution. This can take months or even years to resolve a dispute. In addition, there are significant costs involved with litigation, including litigation fees, expert witness costs and court filing fees. There are many benefits to mediation, including:
It’s less expensive than going to trial
It reduces emotional strain on everyone involved in the case;
It allows you to work out an agreement that is right for you instead of having someone else decide the terms of your agreement.
5. Any Other Information That Would Assist In Reaching An Agreement?
A good Calgary divorce mediator will gather all relevant information from both parties before starting any negotiation process. This information can include financial statements from both parties, tax returns and financial documents such as bank statements or credit card bills that will help explain why it’s important for them to reach an agreement instead of going through litigation costs and risks.
The Takeaway
As you can see, there are plenty of questions that you can ask your mediator, although many of these will depend on the specifics of your own case. Regardless of what your case entails, it’s a good idea to come to each mediation session prepared with some questions in mind. You will likely find that this will help move the process along and may even allow you to explore some solutions and compromises that you hadn’t previously considered.
