South Dakota Divorce Mediation

An Ideal Divorcing Partner for South Dakota Divorce Mediation

Any given divorcing partner is regarded as an ideal candidate for mediation, when the following conditions are met with –

• The partner shows an active involvement in the dispute
• The partner wishes to resolve the dispute
• The partner is not reluctant to sit down and talk with the other partner to overcome the conflict

Philosophy related to South Dakota Divorce Mediation

• Mediation is an efficient method to assist couples involved in disputes to learn to converse and cooperate so that after the divorce, the lives of their children would be healthier and happier
• The legal system is less equipped as compared with mediation to assist divorcing partners in case of the emotional aspect of separation
• The adversarial process results in power struggles, resentment and continued conflict for a long time after the divorce and this can be prevented by mediation
• It is strongly recommended to attempt mediation prior to opting for the adversarial way

Child abuse

As per the law in this state, there is a compulsion on mediators to report child abuse allegations. In fact, if any such allegation is revealed during the mediation sessions, the mediator must promote self-reporting of the same. When the mediator concludes that the child is not in a safe environment, the mediator has to report the relevant data to the local Child Protection Agency. In case the mediator has the opinion that one or both divorcing partners might harm self or others, then it is the responsibility of the mediator to break the confidentiality of the mediation.

Expenses for mediation

The mediator charges the clients for the mediation sessions on an hourly basis. Excluding these, the other heads of expenditure under mediation are as follows –

• Preparation of the mediation settlement agreement
• Discussions with the divorcing partners, their lawyers or other related individuals regarding the mediation
• Long distance phone calls linked with the case
• Essential word processing work

All such expenses related to mediation are expected to be paid before the next mediation session. Prior to the release of the Memorandum of Agreement, both the parties must pay all outstanding balances.

Role of Attorneys

After the mediation is complete, the mediator drafts a Memorandum of Agreement. This comprises of background data regarding the divorcing parties and the facts that are relied upon by these parties. The parties then submit this Memorandum to their attorney for review and implementation of the decisions mentioned in it. The attorney may raise some new or omitted issues. If the parties fail to cooperatively resolve those, then these issues are returned to mediation.

The mediator is not a legal representative of either party. So, it is highly advisable that each party should have their own attorney who is supportive of the mediation. The parties would be benefited by doing so as they would have a better knowledge of the legal rights and responsibilities. This would definitely aid in the mediation process.

Divorce Papers