Family Dispute Resolution

Individual family members have been assisted in resolving disputes arising from divorce or separation, property division, or financial arrangements, through court-connected family mediation programs, which differ significantly from court adjudication. When courts use their authority to resolve disputes by adjudicating matters in litigation, judges’ decisions are binding, subject only to appeal. Formal communication and cooperation by facilitating the process of negotiation that leads to agreement by the parties.

Supporters of court adjudication in resolving family disputes claim that it has numerous advantages over family mediation, and there is some validity to this claim. Judges’ decisions, they argue, explicate and interpret the broader social values involved in family disputes, and family mediation can neglect those values. Advocates of court adjudication also the opportunity for such cases to refine the law through the ongoing development of legal precedent.

But in the final analysis, family mediation is better suited to the unique needs of family law than is the traditional court system. Proponents of family mediation point out that it constitutes a more efficient and less damaging process than litigation. By working together in the mediation process, family members can enhance feelings about the process, perceiving it to be more rational and humane than the court system.