Court Ordered Mediation

COURT ORDERED MEDIATION

In all Chicago divorce cases involving minor children where custody is in dispute, the parties are ordered to undergo court ordered mediation. The court ordered mediation is an attempt to have the custody issued resolved before it becomes a major stalling point in the divorce case.

Mediation is typically done in one or two sessions. The parties meet with a court appointed mediator who attempts to provide guidance as to the custody process. In several circumstances, the parties simply need to become better informed about what types of custody there are and how the different types operate. For example, many individuals feel that they must have custody in order to see their children. They are not yet aware of visitation schedules and joint parenting arrangements. Often, the mediator will be able to get the parties to agree on custody. Most men do not really want the day-to-day operations of raising children. Most men simply want to have a say in the health, education and religious decision making for their children. Joint custody with residential custody going to the mother solves that issue.

Once the mediation is completed, the parties and their respective attorneys will provide the court will the results. Those results typically form the basis of an agreed order to temporary custody, support and visitation.

By ordering mediation from the outset, the courts have truncated several cases from having to be long, drawn-out cases.

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