Is litigation or mediation a better process for resolving disputes regarding child custody and visitation?

Mediation is clearly a better process for resolving the disputes regarding custody and visitation because it really puts the power into the parents’ hands. When you’re discussing your own family, you want to be able to have that control and you want to be able to have that decisiveness to determine what is in your child’s best interest. When you litigate, an expert decides, and ultimately a judge if you can’t agree with what the expert believes in. It’s emotionally draining as well as financial draining. The better the two parents are able to agree with a facilitator such as a mediator, the better it is.

Alison C. Leslie, Esq. practices family law exclusively in her Morristown, NJ offices, where she offers her clients the individualized attention of a solo practitioner with the experience of a larger firm.