What Do I Need to Know about Mediation in Orlando Florida?

MEDIATION HELPS YOU GET DIVORCED FASTER, CHEAPER, AND KEEPS THE LAWYERS OUT OF IT.

You need a divorce and don’t want to spend a fortune.

You don’t want to pay high legal fees to have two lawyers fight and treat you like an ATM.

We can help you achieve your goals for your divorce through our mediation services. Whether you want to minimize harm to your children, secure your financial future, or maintain an amicable relationship with the other parent of your children, we can help you.

WHAT IS MEDIATION?

Mediation is an informal, alternative dispute resolution process where a neutral professional, a Mediator, helps you communicate in a way that leads to a resolution of the conflict or dispute so you can avoid trial and ongoing litigation that takes too long and costs too much money.

WHAT IS A MEDIATOR?

A Mediator is a neutral professional who will help you communicate about your conflict or dispute in a way that helps resolve the problems. Your mediator will not make any decisions for you like a court judge. They will not advocate for you or anyone else involved in your conflict. In other words, they don’t take sides.

The Mediators here at Leap Frog Divorce are highly educated and trained professionals. Every Mediator has a post doctorate degree in dispute resolution from the world-renowned Straus Institute at Pepperdine University School of Law. In addition, every Mediator is also Florida Supreme Court Certified in Family Mediation.

WHAT TYPES OF MEDIATORS ARE THERE?

Mediators come from all industries and backgrounds. Here is an incomplete list with some examples:

• Lawyer mediator
• Former judge mediator
• Therapist mediator
• Financial mediator
• Construction contractor mediator
• Student volunteer mediators
• Police officer mediators
• Bail bonds mediators
• Doctor mediators
• Nurse mediators
• Military veteran mediators
• Law school professor mediators
• School teacher mediators
• Journalist mediators
• Dentist mediators

The list could on and on with as many industries represented as you can think of.

WHAT ARE MEDIATION BENEFITS?

Mediation has the following benefits:

• Saves money
• Saves time
• It is flexible to your schedule
• Less stressful
• You keep the power to make decisions
• You decide what you will accept in settlement
• It can preserve relationships
• It is private and confidential

WHAT DOES MEDIATION LOOK LIKE?

Mediation is an informal, confidential negotiation with everyone involved in the conflict or dispute. Private mediations often take place in a private office conference room, or in today’s pandemic world, remotely over Zoom or some other virtual conferencing platform.

Some courthouses provide mediation services as well. If you had the choice, would you rather go to a private office on a day and time that is convenient for you, or would you prefer to have to drive to the courthouse, find a place to park, pay for parking, go through security, and sit and wait with everyone else at the courthouse that day?

HOW DOES A MEDIATION SESSION HAPPEN?

Once everyone arrives, it is very typical for your Mediator to provide information about things like restroom locations, where the snacks and beverages are located, and how the mediation will be conducted. They will also talk about things like the confidentiality of mediation and that mediation is a voluntary process and that you get to make all the decisions.

In today’s pandemic world with most mediations happening remotely using Zoom or some other virtual meeting platform, the restroom locations and snacks are not really an issue!

WHO DOES MOST OF THE TALKING?

More often than not, it will be you and the other person(s) you are in dispute with who will do most of the talking. Mediation is your time to talk about the dispute or conflict.

WHAT DOES IT COST?

It depends upon who you hire to be your mediator. Mediators come from various industries and backgrounds and have different skill levels, education, experience, and expertise. In Orlando Florida, mediator fees generally run somewhere between $150 and $400 per hour. Although I did have a client who selected a $1000 per hour mediator for his case!

Compared to litigation and the normal back and forth of negotiations over the phone or Email, mediation can save a lot of time and money.

DOES IT WORK?

Mediation is successful most of the time with about 86% of all cases being settled. Whether a mediation is “successful” depends upon how you define success.

For example, I am a divorce lawyer, dispute resolution specialist, and Florida Supreme Court Certified Family Mediator. My definition of mediation success would include one or more of the following:

• My client and I have more helpful information after the mediation than before;
• Some or all of the issues in a conflict were either completely or partially resolved;
• The people in conflict had a safe place to air their grievances and were given a voice to talk about what is most important to them;

Only 5% of civil cases go to trial while 95% of civil cases settle before trial. Mediation has a substantial impact on the high percentage of cases settling before trial.

IS MEDIATION NEW?

No. It has been around since the 1970s and has been successfully used around the world for over 50 years.

IS IT REQUIRED?

In Orlando, every family law case is required to mediate before you can have a hearing on temporary custody or support, and before you can go to trial. Trials are uncertain and expensive and should be avoided if possible or used as a last resort.

WHEN SHOULD YOU MEDIATE?

As soon as possible or as early as possible in your conflict. The earlier you can begin talking and negotiating with the people you are in conflict with the better.

HOW MANY TIMES CAN YOU MEDIATE?

As many times as you need to in order to reach a settlement. There are no restrictions on the number of mediations you can have.

ARE MEDIATION AND ARBITRATION THE SAME THING?

No. They are different.

Both arbitration and mediation are considered alternative dispute resolution methods. However, arbitration is more formal and has more rules and procedures than mediation.

Arbitration is more like “court-lite.” Where an Arbitrator will conduct the arbitration, hear evidence, and render a decision which may or may not be binding.

CONTACT A SKILLED, COMPASSIONATE AND EXPERIENCED ORLANDO MEDIATOR TODAY

Resolving disputes can be complicated. It is important to have a guide who can help you talk about what matters most to you in a way that leads to settlement. Having a great mediator who focuses their practice 100% on family law and divorce is essential because you need a professional who understands everything about divorce. The anger, the fear, the betrayal, and the anxiety about your financial future.

Divorce and divorce-related situations is all we do here at Leap Frog Divorce. We’re ready to help you today, and we have financing options.

Call us today at 407-377-7108 or send us a message. Just let us know what you need help with, and we will contact you quickly!