A mediator, although he/she may be a qualified divorce attorney is not a divorce attorney in your case. It is not the mediator’s job to answer specific legal questions about your case. Confusing huh? The mediator can’t be a legal adviser to either party during divorce mediation. To do so would create a conflict of interest.
What Legal Issues Can a Mediator Discuss?
Child Support:
A mediator can answer questions about child support that are specific to state child support laws. The mediator can’t give you advice on what steps to take should child support not be paid.
Spousal Support:
A mediator can tell you the differences between types of spousal support, whether or not your marriage would be considered long-term according to state guidelines and whether the spousal support decided upon falls within state guidelines.
The mediator can’t give legal advice about whether or not a family court judge will agree to the spousal support agreement between spouses. They can’t discuss with what a judge would or would not likely uphold should a divorce case go to divorce court.
Financial Agreements:
Unless your mediator is a tax expert or certified financial analyst he/she cannot give advice on the legality of any financial agreements the spouse’s come to. Don’t expect your mediator to know the tax ramifications of a proposed settlement.
The mediator’s job is the help spouse’s come to an agreement, not to tell spouse’s whether their agreement is financially fair to both or legally valid. If your mediator attempts to do so, he/she has over-stepped their bounds.
Anyone participating in mediation should make sure they protect their legal and financial divorce rights during mediation. If you are experiencing an adversarial divorce having a divorce attorney, a qualified mediator and financial expert is imperative. Doing so means coming through the process with a divorce settlement that is fair to all involved.
