Finally changed my mind about courthouse mediation after the one in Austin

Walked into the Travis County courthouse last Tuesday for a mediation session. Always thought they were just a waste of time and money. But the mediator there, Ms. Reyes, actually listened to both sides for almost 3 hours. She found a middle ground on the payment schedule that I never would have thought of. Has anyone else had a good experience with court-appointed mediators?

3 comments

3 Comments

patricia_hill601d ago

Worked for me in Dallas a few years back. Mediator found a split on child support that actually made sense for both of us.

the_olivia1d ago

The trick with mediation is timing. @patricia_hill60 you got lucky that the mediator in Dallas actually knew what they were doing. A lot of them just push for whatever gets the paperwork signed fastest. Most people don't realize that mediators aren't regulated the same way in every state. Some of them have no real training in family law, they just took a weekend class and hung out a shingle. Dallas has some good programs though so that checks out.

the_betty3h ago

wait hold on, the mediator thing is good but child support splits are actually set by state guidelines mostly. like the mediator can suggest things but if the numbers are way off the state formula, a judge isn't going to sign off on it. so it probably worked because it matched what the guidelines would have been anyway, not because the mediator was some genius.