A learned judge once said that no one wins in court. By this, he meant that the family loses control of decisions and that the expense is extreme. So, instead of spending money on two separate attorneys, mediation allows the parties to pay for one mediator to resolve all of the issues in the case. Moreover, even if the parties initially retain two separate attorneys, the court may still order the parties to attempt mediation before there is a trial. Best Law Firm welcomes parties who are represented by counsel, as well as parties who are unrepresented. Attempting mediation before courtroom litigation will save the parties time and money.
Best Law Firm can assist families throughout Arizona, including Phoenix, Mesa, Glendale, Scottsdale, Tempe, Chandler, Peoria, Gilbert, Casa Grande, Tucson, Flagstaff, Anthem, Carefree, Cave Creek, Fountain Hills, Goodyear, Apache Junction, Avondale, Queen Creek, Sun City, Surprise and all cities within Maricopa County, Yavapai County, Gila County, Pinal County, Mohave County, Pima County, Coconino County, La Paz County and Santa Cruz County.
If you choose to go to court for your case, you will be required to provide documents to the court and to the other party on strict deadlines; documents include mandatory disclosures, responses to discovery, affidavits of financial information, resolution statements, proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law and pretrial statements. Further, you may have to attend numerous court hearings, such as a resolution management conference, review hearings, return hearings, status conferences, evidentiary hearings and a trial. You are required under Rule 49 to obtain and provide copies of all pertinent documents, and the opposing party must do exactly the same. Obviously, this is time-consuming and expensive, because you are producing duplicate documents back and forth. In mediation, the parties are under the same full disclosure rules, but they can work together to produce their documents. Courts do not excuse these requirements simply because you are unrepresented.
By allowing a mediator to assist your family in resolving your issues, you can avoid court and all the other paperwork requirements for a litigated matter. You can avoid all the other steps and procedures of a litigated matter by negotiating all your issues. You must still file the initial pleadings and answer, attend the mandatory parenting class and file the required final documents, but it will be in a measured, timely fashion, one that you can choose. You never have to set foot in a courtroom once you are able to mediate all your issues.
We can conduct your consultation by phone, zoom or in person. Call us today at (480) 219-2433 or fill out the form below.