Wednesday, August 19, 2009

ND Supreme Court Family Mediation Project!!!

I am excited to announce that I was recently selected by the North Dakota Supreme Court to be a Family Mediator for the Family Mediation Project of North Dakota. This project aims to allow divorced or divorcing couples to negotiate the terms of their divorce, including custody and support issues.

While people always have had the option of mediating divorces on their own, the pilot project requires mediation in most cases.

"The major goal is just to allow parties to sit down and negotiate their own agreements without having to go through the adversarial court process," Cathy Ferderer, the state's Family Mediation Program administrator, explained.

The project appears to be off to a strong start, according to initial data prepared by Greacen Associates, a private consulting firm. More than 90 percent of participants surveyed reported being satisfied with mediation, even if they did not settle anything through the process.

"It seemed to be a positive experience, even if they were not reaching an agreement,"Ferderer said.

Officials flag cases involving custody disputes within 10 days of filing. While the cases get set for regular court proceedings, people with unresolved custody issues get put into mandatory mediation in an effort to solve the issues without a trial. Mediation can be used to negotiate any issues.

"Essentially, the biggest issues tend to be support and children," Storbakken said.

Cases are excluded from mediation if there are elements of domestic violence or a power imbalance involved in the relationship, or if the couple already has attempted mediation prior to filing for divorce.


**Source, Bismarck Tribune***

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