3 Family Law Mediation Mistakes That Could Cost You Thousands

Thinking about family law mediation?

Before you spend thousands of dollars and hours negotiating, make sure you avoid these three common mistakes that can derail settlement discussions.

In this Shorts, we discuss:

✔ Choosing the right mediator
✔ Why timing matters in mediation
✔ The importance of having complete discovery
✔ Realistic settlement expectations
✔ Family law negotiation strategies
✔ Divorce and custody mediation tips

Many people enter mediation too early, without the facts they need to make informed decisions. Others choose mediators without sufficient family law experience or approach mediation with an unrealistic "win at all costs" mindset.

Successful mediation requires preparation, compromise, strategy, and the right professionals guiding the process.

If you're involved in a divorce, custody dispute, support case, or other family law matter, understanding these mistakes can save you time, money, and frustration.

"What are the top three mistakes that people make at a family law mediation?

Number one is they pick the wrong mediator. What's the role of the mediator? They're playing both sides against the middle to try to get a compromise for a settlement. You have to be good at that. You have to understand family law if you're going to resolve a case. Probably a retired judge, but maybe not. It depends on the retired judge and what did they do? Were they on the family law bench? Did they spend most of their time elsewhere? So, knowing and picking the right mediator is of paramount importance.

Number two, they go to mediation far too early. It's a really good idea to try to settle your case and not let a stranger in a black robe do that for you at trial. But, if you go to mediation and you don't have the facts, you don't have all the discovery you need, what in the hell are you negotiating? You're negotiating in the blind. What's a good deal? Who knows? Because you don't know what a normal deal would be or a bad deal would be cuz you don't have the facts.

And number three, they go into mediation with the wrong idea. They think that they can essentially get what they want, lack compromise, fail to give concessions, and somehow they're going to bully or intimidate the other side into a settlement. Maybe that works elsewhere in other forms of business if you're negotiating with inferior foes, but typically in a family law context, if the attorneys know what they're doing, you're not going to solve anything like that. So, going for a couple hours and wasting several thousand dollars is just that. It's a waste. You want to settle your case, set it for trial. The closer and closer you get, the more and more people will be willing to reach a settlement."