Most divorces are difficult to go through, but things are made even worse when there are children involved. Child custody battles have been fought in court for many years. It rarely ends well for both parents, much less the kids. That is why so many divorcing couples are creating their own child custody agreements outside the courtroom. Some draft them on their own, but not every ex-couple gets along well enough to do that. Instead, they turn to mediation to help them get the job done. Here are three benefits of going through mediation for your child custody agreement.
1. The cost can be significantly less than fighting it out in court.
One of the biggest benefits to going through mediation for your child custody agreement is the cost is usually much less. While there are many different factors that can impact how much you pay to pursue your child custody case in court, the cost of your attorney is likely to impact it the most.
If your attorney charges by the hour, and your case drags out for several days or even weeks, you can imagine how quickly your legal fees will add up. It isn't unheard of to spend several thousand dollars fighting over child custody in court.
When you meet with a mediator, however, the costs can be significantly less because you don't need to have an attorney with you. Some people still like to have their attorneys present, but it's really unnecessary since the mediator is there to help both of you come up with the best compromise possible.
In most cases, you will likely spend several hundred dollars on mediation, but that cost is usually divided between you and your ex prior to the session.
2. Your desires for child custody will definitely be taken into consideration.
Whenever you go through court for child custody, the judge decides what happens. They decide who gets the child and when and for how long. In so many cases, a judge ruling in child custody benefits one parent more than the other. This isn't so in mediation.
Your mediator doesn't work for just one of you - they work for you both. Their job isn't to make things more difficult for either parent, but to make things much easier for everyone involved. They will listen to your desires for child custody, as well as your ex's. They will seek out the best solution to incorporate what you both want.
Of course, that means you won't get everything you desire, but neither will your ex. However, it is better that both of you get at least some of the things you want instead of running the risk that a judge won't give you much more than visitation every other weekend.
3. You can schedule mediation at your convenience.
If you go through court to get child custody settled, you are at the mercy of whenever there is a space on the court docket to hear your case. You have no choice when your case will go before the family court judge. If it happens when you can't attend, sometimes your family law attorney can get it rescheduled, but you still won't have a choice on the date and time.
When you go through mediation for child custody, you and your ex decide when the best time is to schedule it. Of course, you will be at the mercy of openings that the mediator has, but you will still get to choose what works best for you out of what's available.
It can also be much easier to reschedule a mediation session if one, or both, of you can't make it. The specific rescheduling requirements vary depending on the mediator, but you usually do have to give them notice in advance if you need to schedule your session for another day.
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