Brownsville Divorce Mediation | Brownsville Family & Divorce Arbitration | Brownsville Family Matters Arbitration Attorney
Mediation over the last thirty years has been the primary way divorcing couples or parents of children have privately negotiated the terms of their divorce or custody conflicts. In mediation, a third person (a mediator) helps the couple come up with sensible options for settling disputes about child support, health care, custody, visitation, alimony, spousal maintenance and support, division of property and assets, division of debts and liabilities, and sale or transfer to one spouse of the marital residence. Family mediation in Brownsville and Cameron County is also a popular and economical way for couples to negotiate pre-divorce separation agreements, or resolve conflicts about post-divorce modifications to child support and visitation.
Brownsville family mediation can be a "pleasant" alternative to litigation.
Typically, engaging an experienced Brownsville divorce mediator can result in resolving issues arising from the break up of a marriage or partnership faster and much less expensively than litigating disputes at the court house. Couples who seek out divorce mediation in Brownsville are looking for a way to avoid having a judge make important decisions that often do not take into account the individual needs of the spouses or their children. The spouses’ goal in divorce mediation is to do the negotiating themselves and to keep control of the outcome in their own capable hands rather than in the Cameron County courts. No one knows what they need for themselves and their own family better than they do. The family mediation statute in Texas makes private all information and documents exchanged in mediation, except for those that would otherwise be independently discoverable outside of the process.
What is a Brownsville family law mediator’s role in a divorce?
The Brownsville mediator's role is to remain neutral, meaning he or she cannot choose sides or advocate for one party over another during the mediation. Unlike a Cameron County family court judge in litigation, a Brownsville mediator cannot make any decisions for the parties or impose his or her judgment on them. To put it another way, one real advantage of mediation over litigation is that the parties in mediation do not have to do anything they do not agree to.
Another advantage of mediation over litigation is that you get to pick your Brownsville divorce mediator. You do not get to choose your Cameron County judge in divorce litigation, and the judge you draw can dramatically affect your outcome. When choosing a Brownsville divorce mediator, consider his or her background, personality, knowledge and experience in your type of dispute, and whether his or her style of mediation is comfortable for you and your spouse. Brownsville divorce mediators can be very effective using a number of different types of mediation. Are you looking for a stronger, more aggressive (evaluative) style of mediation? Or do you instead want the mediator to guide you to a calm and peaceful agreement through transformative or collaborative mediation?
What role will my family lawyer or divorce lawyer play in mediation?
Divorce lawyers play different roles in mediation depending on where you are in the country. In some states it is very common for divorcing spouses to mediate before they even file for divorce. Often their family lawyers, if they have them, do not attend the mediation. In other states, mediation typically takes place right before trial with divorce lawyers by the spouses' sides throughout the entire mediation. Ask your mediator what your options are, and discuss what will work best for your individual circumstances with your family lawyer.
Whether a divorce lawyer or the mediator drafts the legal paperwork that must be filed with the court to begin and to finalize the divorce also depends on the laws and rules of ethics of the state where the mediation takes place. Typically, at the end of mediation your mediator will create for your signatures a written document (a “mediated” or “compromise” settlement agreement) memorializing the terms of your settlement. The terms in this agreement are binding under most circumstances. A mediator cannot give legal advice, so it is smart for you to have a knowledgeable family lawyer review your agreements to be sure they are in your best interests before you sign a mediated settlement agreement. You should ask your mediator if he or she will draft any additional legal paperwork that you may need to finalize the divorce or if this must be done by a family law attorney.
How is divorce mediation different from collaborative law?
Although divorce mediation and collaborative law (or collaborative divorce) are private alternative dispute resolution (ADR) processes designed to avoid court and to empower couples to make their own decisions, divorce mediation and collaborative law work differently. In mediation, the parties use a neutral third person to help them negotiate, and they may or may not have family law attorneys present at the mediation.
In collaborative law, the parties are represented by their collaborative attorneys and use a team of neutral professionals to assist them. The collaborative lawyers and their clients attend all the meetings, and usually a divorce coach (a marriage/family counselor) and other professionals from the team are also present at each meeting.
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An important difference between collaborative law and divorce mediation is that in mediation, if the parties do not settle, their lawyers may continue to present them in litigation. Collaborative lawyers must withdraw from representing their clients if they cannot settle during the collaborative law process. |
Have you ever heard of collaborative mediation?
Collaborative mediation combines the best and most successful strategies of collaborative law with the simplicity and cost effectiveness of family mediation. Collaborative mediation addresses concerns that spouses who want an amicable divorce have expressed about collaborative law including:
- The cost of collaborative law with the entire "team approach";
- The loss of the parties' monies when collaborative law is attempted and ends with no success; and
- The loss of both collaborative attorneys when an attempt at collaborative law fails, requiring both parties to hire counsel all over again.
To remedy those concerns, family lawyers developed "collaborative mediation". It works like this:
- The spouses retain a "neutral" mediator trained in collaborative law who helps them negotiate the terms of their divorce agreement;
- There is a "divorce coach" present at all times who is trained in behavioral psychology to help the spouses manage emotions, reduce conflict, and communicate constructively;
- The "neutral" mediator and the "divorce coach" use the proven negotiation strategies of collaborative law in mediated settlement conferences to achieve the spouses' goals and desires;
- In the collaborative mediation, the spouses may be represented by attorneys if they wish to do so;
- The spouses in collaborative mediation can do their own negotiating with the assistance of (a) the "neutral" mediator, (b) the "divorce coach", and (c) other professionals such as accountants, property and business appraisers, pediatric psychologists if there are children - but only when needed;
- In collaborative mediation the spouses' attorneys do not have to withdraw or abandon their representation if the collaborative mediation fails; and
- If there are children and the parties wish to do so, the spouses draw up a plan for future interaction addressing (a) civility and (b) what is in the best interests of the children.
If you like the idea of collaborative mediation and you are unable to locate a family lawyer who is trained to act as a "neutral" collaborative mediator, please visit DétenteTM Collaborative Mediation for Family Law, LLC which is not a law firm. It is an entity offering collaborative mediation of separation, divorce, child support, child custody (conservatorship, access, possession), and post-divorce modification disputes, as well as offering national training in collaborative mediation to attorney-mediators, divorce coaches, therapists, financial, and other professionals.
What is family law arbitration in Cameron County, Texas?
Arbitration is an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) process to avoid court. In arbitration, parties through their separate divorce attorneys present their positions to a neutral person or panel who renders a decision. Family law arbitration is similar to litigation, however instead of using a family court judge to decide the outcome and going through the formalities of trial, the parties agree to use a Brownsville arbitrator in a less formal hearing.
Parties who agree to use arbitration in a Cameron County divorce sign a written agreement to place specific issues in dispute into arbitration. They must also agree on the rules the arbitrator will follow when conducting the arbitration, and whether the arbitrator’s decision (award) will be binding or not.
Unlike in court where parties do not have a choice what judge they get, parties do have the opportunity to select their arbitrator. Choosing an experienced Brownsville arbitrator who has a reputation for fairness and expertise in the type of issues in your case is very important because the binding decision of an arbitrator is extraordinarily difficult to overturn. Divorce arbitration rules in Texas are in the Texas Family Code.
Need a New Home?
If you are moving in Brownsville or the surrounding area after a divorce, please stop by a realtor near you for help finding that perfect new home.
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Virginia Restovich
Sarah Kulungowski
Foster Little |
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RE/MAX Sun Valley Realators
RE/MAX Sun Valley Realotors
RE/MAX 1st Choice Of McAllen |
For a FREE CONSULTATION, call one of the qualified Brownsville family mediators, collaborative mediation attorneys, and divorce arbitrators listed on this site today. |
Serving clients throughout Southern Texas, including Bayview, Brownsville, Cameron Park, Chula Vista Orason, Combes, Del Mar Heights, Donna, Edinburg, Indian Lake, Harlingen, Laguna Vista, La Feria, Laguna Heights, Laureles, Los Fresnos, Los Indios, McAllen, Mercedes, Mission, Olmito, Palm Valley, Port Isabel, Primera, Rancho Viejo, Rangerville, Reid Hope King, Rio Hondo, San Benito, San Pedro, Santa Rosa, South Padre Island, South Point, Villa Pancho, Weslaco, Yznaga and other communities in Cameron County.