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Originally Posted by Patagonia
Has anyone had any luck with mediation for child custody?
I feel like the mediation I did for custody this past fall was kind of substandard.
We went 3 times each session lasting 3 hrs trying to come up with a parental plan.
The first session my X said he thought the court approved time of two nites a week was disruptive & wouldn’t agree to it. So we wasted 3 hrs arguing over it as our mediator just sat there repeating what was said to each other.
It took forever to get the entire process done & it was expensive. I feel like I gave up on a few important things just so we could finish.
Afterwards when I spoke to my attorney she said if he wouldn’t agree to the 2 nites he’d be in contempt of court anyway & the judge already signed the agreement. Our job was to figure out the other stuff.
Why didn’t our mediator know this? I don’t think she had any legal background but I do know she works as a therapist.
I just felt like it would’ve gone better if someone was able to to help us & not just sit there.
6 months later, the divorce is not near being over & we’re having custody issues. I’d like to go back to mediations but now I’m hesitant.
Any advice?
Thanks
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My mediation experience was a waste of time for me. My ex and her attorney demanded full custody and walked out when I would not agree to anything less than shared custody. My divorce has been going on since Nov 2017 and it is extremely depressing. My ex is not the type person who is reasonable in sitting down and discussing things. My children are 6 and 10. I can share that divorce seems like an endless pit of depression that you are sucked into. I never expected this in my life. Its also extremely hard because you feel alone in this experience, especially when you hear of others that had simple divorces, or well meaning friends tell you to get another attorney... Please know you are not alone in your feelings and that they are valid.