Note that divorce information given in this section cannot take the place of independent legal or financial divorce advice. Please read our disclaimer.

"As a mediation professor, tell us what is most important in the process."

The real beauty of divorce mediation is confidentiality. And confidentiality leads to trust. If you're in a trusting environment, you're much more likely to be able to negotiate a fair solution to all the issues of your marriage.

In family-law litigation, there is no trust: you won't be able to trust your ex-spouse, and it's sad, but it's true. You also can't trust what's going to happen with the other side, or what the judge or arbitrator will do, when you're in litigation. In divorce mediation, however, you can trust because it's confidential, and you can say what you want to say without it ever being used against you. Additionally, you can trust the mediator, because the mediator is the neutral and wants to make sure that both of you get a satisfying solution. So the best part of divorce mediation is the trust and the confidentiality.

Mari Frank is a divorce attorney-mediator in Laguna Niguel, CA (Orange County). She has been featured on numerous national television shows including 48 Hours, Dateline, NBC Nightly News, and The O'Reilly Factor and in newspapers across the nation including the L.A. Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal. She can be reached at (949) 364-1511. View her website and Divorce Magazine profile.