Benefits of Mediation

Vivian C. Carlson is a lawyer who is trained in conflict resolution. As a mediator her goal is to help resolve conflict without clients spending their emotional and financial resources to win over or get the upper hand over their spouse or partner. Her aim is to help clients view their family law matter with a business-like eye. Most legal issues can be resolved when psychological and emotional strategies employed by the parites are overcome. In doing so, nearly all family matters that are mediated from the start of the process are far less expensive and time consuming than those who put that are put before the courts, with or without lawyers.

Clients are empowered to speak up
Clients are far more satisfied when they make decisions, not a judge
The parties maintain their privacy
Costs are greatly reduced
Emotional and psychological impact lessened

Unless a litigant has set their matter on a “long cause” calendar, the litigant has 20 to 30 minutes of a judge or commissioner’s time for a decision to be made for temporary spousal support or child support or request for attorneys fees. The financial documents required to be filed with the court in a child support or spousal support matter entail the preparation of, and review by a judge, of a minimum of 9 pages of forms/financial data. Family court calendars can have 10 to 25 cases to be decided in a single morning or afternoon session, also known as a calendar. Judges cannot be relied upon to thoroughly understand your case.

In addition, many California counties, Santa Clara County included, are paperless; family law judges and commissioners no longer have access to paper documents contained in a litigants file. Judge’s must flip through computer screens to retrieve the financial minutiae of a case, a hurculean task for anybody. There could be several court appearances thereafter, each costing $3,000 to $5,000 in fees. Mediation can be completed, and a divorce finalized, for the fees paid to divorce attorneys for one court appearance.