Mediation May Be The Cost-Effective, Favorable Choice For Your Dispute Resolution

Mediation can be useful in many situations, whether or not a court case is currently pending. In some cases, mediation before a court case is filed can reduce the duration and cost of a court case or prevent a case from needing to be filed.

Many pending cases require that mediation be completed, and mediations allow parties to settle many cases that would require much more time and money to bring to court. Also, parties may have disagreements over the interpretation of a court order after a case has concluded, and mediation may offer a way to resolve those differences.

Mediation is commonly used for disputes involving:

  • Divorce

  • Division of property

  • Child custody

  • Visitation

  • Child support

  • Extracurricular activities

  • Child expenses

  • Estate conflicts

  • Small claims disputes

  • Employee employer conflicts

  • Other disputes (not including whether a domestic abuse occurred)

Mediation Format

First, the attorney mediator will want to check in with each participant to ensure that he or she is comfortable taking part in mediation. Second, Once the Parties arrive(Mediation can also be via telephone, Face time, skype, etc) each participant will be seated in separate rooms, and the mediator will discuss the mediation agreement and start to understand each participants perspective on the situation. Third, if all participants agree to meet together in the same room, the mediator and participants will then move to the same room.

At any time, the participants may end or recess the mediation by reaching a resolution or deciding that a break or end to the mediation is appropriate. The goal of mediation is to reach a real resolution to the issues that bring you to mediation.

Mediation Cost

Mediation fees are billed by the tenth of an hour, and each party is expected to pay one-half of the fees, unless otherwise agreed, at the time of the mediation.

Do not hesitate to contact a lawyer at our office to obtain more information, including a copy of our standard mediation agreement. Contact us to schedule mediation at our Iowa City and Grinnell offices, or alternate locations. Often, mediation will be held in rooms in the county courthouse if this is most convenient for the parties, or other locations such as libraries. Our office can host mediations in many counties near our offices.