Divorce - Mediation - Financial Hardship?

Question

My daughter has a trial before court date in a couple of weeks.

Her "new" lawyer lied and told her the judge had ordered her to mediation (there is no such order, not signed and not on file).

She only has enough money for the actual trial itself and not the additional $5,000 for a full day of mediation.

If there's no signed order, I don't want her to agree to mediation.


Questions:

1. If, at the trial, the judge actually DOES order mediation, can't her lawyer plea Financial Hardship as a reason why my daughter can't goto mediation?

2. If the judge doesn't accept Financial Hardship, can't her lawyer demand that all mediation costs be paid by her to-be-Ex ??

3. Is there any other acceptable way for her or her lawyer to get out of going to mediation ??

Thanks for your help.

Thank you all for your answers (except for hex of course.... grow up).

The judge set the trial date 2 months ago. I guess all she can do is show up for the mediation and hope his lawyer doesn't screw her over. As for the $5K, it's nothing considering she's already paid $30k for absolutely nothing.

The only good lawyer really is a dead lawyer.

Answer 1

1. If, at the trial, the judge actually DOES order mediation, can't her lawyer plea Financial Hardship as a reason why my daughter can't goto mediation?

How do you know it was not a judicial bench order? The fact is, if mediation has been ordered and she shows up in court without having participated, the judge is well within discretion to rule in the other party's favor without giving her another chance.

As for financial hardship, that is not an option to opt out of mediation.

2. If the judge doesn't accept Financial Hardship, can't her lawyer demand that all mediation costs be paid by her to-be-Ex ??

He can ask but it is up to the court and in many states, by statute, there is no discretion here. The court is bound by statute to tax BOTH parties an equal share of the mediation.

Even in states where mediation is not taxed equally, the court normally orders the party NOT cooperating to shoulder the extra expense for the mediation.

3. Is there any other acceptable way for her or her lawyer to get out of going to mediation ??

Yes, either die before trial or agree to stipulations offered by the other party.

Instead of helping your daughter thumb her nose at the judicial system, it would be nice to finally see a parent teach their child to accept responsibility.

That is obviously not the case here.

Answer 2

In many jurisdictions now, mediation is mandatory. Where did the $5000 figure come from? That sounds like a corporate figure, not divorce/custody. There should be a way your daughter can request a waiver of fees and costs based on her income but you really, really should never advise her to ignore a court order. In addition to ticking off the judge, it just makes things much more difficult. With respect to your questions:
1) Usually a trial is not scheduled until mediation has been concluded so that won't work.
2) Yes, her lawyer can request the ex pay the costs but the costs are usually split.
3) Not a good idea to try to get out of mediation.
I know this is a difficult time for everybody but try to be supportive without getting too emotionally involved. You will be much more helpful to her if you can do that. Encourage her to go to mediation and let her work out the fee issue with her attorneys. I'm sure they have come up against that problem in the past and can suggest ways to work it out. I don't know where the idea came from that her attorney "lied" but it is not a good idea to be mistrustful of your own attorney.

Answer 3

Refusing to go to mediation can be a sign to a judge that the person is not reasonable and not willing to work out a settlement.

Mediations are a LOT cheaper than going to court - where did you get the 5 thousand dollar figure from?

The judge could have told the lawyers to have the parties do mediation to lessen the court time. It did not have to be written. As for paying, the partying asking for the divorce is the typical person to pay.

Good luck

Answer 4

If you think mediation is likely to work then try to get the other party to agree and start now - it can save a lot of problems/costs. Otherwise, the judge will probably order it and both will have to agree. Keep records of what is going on so that you can fully inform your attorney. You need to get an attorney NOW. Hope this helps..

Answer 5

if there is no signed order for mediation, then how can the courts set it up?

doesn't make any sense to me.

Answer 6

i have heard that mediation is mandatory in divorce and child custody cases...not sure, but i know lots of people that have had to do it...they didnt want to either, but had to.