Family Mediation: Benefits and Limitations

 Posted on September 17,2020 in Illinois Family Law

If you are going through a complicated family law matter and it seems as though it will be difficult or even impossible to resolve the dispute without doing harm to your family, you might want to consider a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR). More specifically, family mediation might be able to provide you with the necessary tools to resolve the dispute with your spouse or another family member while helping you to keep costs down. If you have questions or want to learn more about family mediation in DuPage County, you should seek advice from one of the Oakbrook Terrace family law attorneys at Farooqi & Husain Law Office. We are committed to serving the Muslim community and can discuss ADR options for your family law case.

What Is Mediation?

Under Illinois law, mediation is defined as a process in which a mediator facilitates communication between parties to assist them in reaching a voluntary agreement regarding their dispute. A neutral third party known as a mediator is the figure who facilitates dialogue between the parties and helps them to reach a decision that resolves their dispute. Mediation can be helpful in family law cases, but it is not limited to family law matters. To be sure, mediation can be used in an attempt to resolve a wide variety of legal disputes.

It is important to understand some key elements of mediation if you are considering it for your family law case. First, the mediator plays a role that is very different from a judge. Unlike a judge, who hears both parties’ sides and makes a decision, the mediator does not hear the disputing parties’ positions and does not issue any rulings or judgments. Instead, the mediator is there to help the parties engaged in discussion about the dispute, to negotiate, and ultimately to resolve the dispute. Next, and also importantly, if the parties do not reach an agreement in mediation, nothing that has been said or communicated is binding. Mediation only becomes binding if the parties voluntarily agree.

Benefits of Mediation in a DuPage County Family Law Case

There are many benefits of mediation in a family law matter, including but not limited to the following:

• Tends to take significantly less time than a family law dispute that must be heard and resolved by a judge
• Issues that come up in mediation are kept entirely private, so all family matters can remain private if the dispute is resolved through mediation
• Much more cost-effective than going to court
• Parties in a family law mediation frequently develop better or improved communication skills with one another, which can be beneficial if the parties will be sharing parental responsibilities

Limitations of Family Law Mediation

Generally speaking, there are few limitations to family mediation since the parties can always go to court if they cannot resolve their dispute in mediation. However, mediation can reinforce unequal power dynamics between disputing parties, and in some cases, it can feel like time wasted if mediation does not resolve the dispute.

Seek Advice from a DuPage County Family Law Attorney

At Farooqi & Husain Law Office, we know how complex many family law cases can be, especially for members of the DuPage County Muslim community. Our experienced DuPage County family law attorneys are here to help. To learn more about family mediation and to discuss whether it could be a beneficial route for you, get in touch with our firm as soon as possible. Contact Farooqi & Husain Law Office online or call us today at 630-909-9114 for more information about the services we provide to the Muslim community in your area.

Source:

https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs3.asp?ActID=2489&ChapterID=51