Mediation is something that happens sometimes in a West Virginia divorce. It can be done either prior to the people who were involved in the divorce actually filing or it could happen at some point along the way in the divorce. What will happen in a West Virginia divorce is sometimes a court will actually appoint a mediator. What that person does is make an effort to try to facilitate an agreement between two people. They have no authority at all to try to get the people who are involved in the divorce to reach an agreement. They are attorneys who usually have a lot of experience in the area of family law.
The couples divorcing oftentimes are not even in the same room. It’s really up to the mediator oftentimes as to what he or she thinks about having the couple in the same room and if it is going to be most advantageous to getting the case resolved. What the mediator will do is they’ll be familiar with the issues that are involved and they’ll be able to talk to both people to try to reason with them to try to come up with an agreement. The mediator is going to know what the risks are to both people. For example, one couple may need a mediator because it might be an alimony award to the other person. It could be that there are risks to child custody.
Now, if they can’t come to an agreement, then at that point, the case just goes on as it usually would. The people will go in front of the judge at that point, if there’s no agreement, the judge will make a decision. Not every instance says mediation is appropriate. It’s important for the couple divorcing to be close or could be a waste of time.
If there’s a possibility that the people can reach an agreement, then that’s something totally different. It’s maybe going to be worth it. The mediator will try to come up with an agreement on all of the issues that are going to be involved in a divorce. It could be child custody, child support, alimony and it could be property. It’s important to realize that even if there is an agreement, it still has to be approved by the judge. However, most judges will go along with an agreement that the people who were involved in a divorce come to.
