Virtual mediation can offer individuals who are seeking divorce a time-saving and cost-effective option in many cases. Many courts, in Tennessee and throughout the country, typically order mediation in divorce cases where the spouses have not already pursued dispute resolution on their own. Call King Law Offices at 888-748-5464 to set up a consultation with one of our experienced family law attorneys and discuss strategies for virtual mediation in your case.
What Is Virtual Mediation?
The term virtual mediation comes from the use of digital telecommunication tools to create virtual conference rooms in which virtual mediation takes place. The name can sometimes give rise to an unfortunate perception that the mediation carried out in this manner is somehow less real or less valid than divorce mediation conducted in a physical space shared by all participants. It is the setting, not the mediation, that is virtual.
How Much Does Mediation Cost in Divorce?
The cost of mediation and divorce fees, but the variables that factor into the final equation are, in most cases, fairly predictable. The following items may help you to estimate the cost of mediation and divorce based on how each factor presents in your particular situation:
Court-Ordered vs. Independent Mediation in Divorce
If the mediation is ordered by a family court, often the court rules and procedures play a strong role in setting the cost. If you and your spouse opt for mediation on your own before filing with a family court, then the cost for the mediation services will be whatever arrangement the two of you make with the mediator.
Assessment of Standard Divorce Mediation Fees
Some states set a standard hourly fee for mediation in family cases when the mediation is managed through the court system. Often, this hourly rate is accompanied by an additional administrative fee that is only charged once.
Timeline for Divorce Mediation Resolution
If mediation is a court-ordered process in your situation, then the court rules will likely require both parties to participate for a minimum number of hours or until they reach a resolution on all matters, whichever comes first. In most states, after the first session in court-ordered mediation, the neutral will submit a document similar to the report Tennessee requires for Rule 31 Mediation, indicating whether all matters have been settled.
If any matters remain unresolved, the mediator will also usually indicate whether they believe further mediation, formally called continuing mediation, is likely to be productive. A mandatory minimum is not a requirement for independent mediation unless it is a condition of your mutual agreement with the mediator, but in both cases, the more expeditiously you are able to resolve the matters pending in your case, the less the cost of mediation in divorce will typically be.
Options for Financial Relief
For court-ordered mediation, only most states offer some financial hardship cost restrictions for mediation and divorce. The qualifying criteria depend on the state. A family attorney from King Law Offices may be able to explain the requirements in your jurisdiction.
Is Virtual Mediation in Divorce Cheaper?
If travel to and from the meeting location or the facility fee, some mediators charge for the reservation of a conference room and coworker space, or a similar arrangement, form a substantial portion of mediation expenses in a particular instance, then virtual mediation can be cheaper than the in-person version of the divorce mediation process. Conversely, if one or both parties may be using a metered data plan that charges based on the number of bytes transmitted over the connection, then virtual mediation stands to increase the costs of mediation in divorce by a significant margin. This metered data problem tends to be less of a problem in highly urbanized areas where cable access to high-speed internet is the norm, but it can be a determining factor in some parts of rural Tennessee, where a combination of distance from population centers and topographical barriers makes telecommunication more expensive and less reliable than might be the case in other settings.
Is Mediation in Divorce Better Online or In-Person?
If you are contemplating virtual mediation in divorce, you may have questions about how virtual methods compare to more traditional ones. Whether virtual mediation makes sense in your situation can depend on a few factors, but in general, the considerations that have the greatest impact on the success of mediation and divorce are not greatly different for virtual vs. face-to-face settings. Often, the attitudes of both parties and their willingness to work together to find fair and reasonable compromises on the issues in dispute between them will prove to have a larger significance on the effectiveness of mediation in divorce than the format in which the conversation takes place.
When To Consider Mediation in Divorce
Although there are relatively few circumstances in which one absolutely should vs. should not opt for virtual mediation in divorce, there are a few situations in which conducting divorce mediation online may be especially helpful. Some of these include:
- One party to the divorce no longer lives in the area where the divorce case has been filed: When travel requirements would impose a disproportionate burden on one of the spouses, virtual mediation in divorce can help to place the parties on a more equal footing. In some cases, the mileage fee owed to the neutral in court-ordered mediation under state-specific rules (in South Carolina, Rule 9, SCADR) can also impact the total cost of divorce mediation, so check the rules in your jurisdiction or confirm mileage costs with your private mediator.
- One or both parties may keep an unpredictable schedule: Logging in remotely often takes less advanced planning and certainly leaves greater flexibility in the rest of an individual’s day than traveling to and from a physical location, even if the mediation session itself lasts the same amount of time either way.
- One party has an especially challenging caregiver burden, such as for a special-needs child: Often, individuals serving as caregivers have responsibilities that extend virtually around the clock, and for which an alternative or temporary support person may not always be a satisfactory or even realistic solution. While these conditions will undoubtedly always be less than ideal, often virtual mediation can lower the barriers to this spouse’s full participation in the divorce mediation process.
Regardless of the factors present in your personal situation, one possibility both spouses should take steps to avoid is a scenario in which the choice of virtual vs. in-person mediation itself becomes a significant source of conflict in the divorce process.
Discuss Virtual Mediation Options With a Family Law Attorney
If virtual mediation has been presented to you as an option in your divorce proceedings, you may reasonably have questions about the value of virtual mediation in divorce and how it differs from more traditional approaches. The goal of mediation in divorce is always to achieve practical resolutions to a couple’s disputed issues in a way that is both fair to both parties and efficient for all involved. Ideally, virtual mediation should be no different from meeting in a conference room or similar sitting in this respect. However, a number of factors can help to make virtual mediation a more vs. less practical and attractive option in your particular divorce case. King Law Offices maintains locations conveniently situated in Tennessee, as well as North Carolina and South Carolina, so call 888-748-5464 to be connected with a member of our team near you.
