The reasons to choose mediation over litigation are:
- Mediation is typically much, much faster and efficient compared to litigation. Instead of spending hours engaging your attorney to engage with another attorney to engage with the other party, and so on and so on, mediation can resolve your specific situation in a fraction of the time and with far less emotional stress than what litigation brings.
- Mediation is less expensive. Instead of spending tens and tens of thousands of dollars, because mediating your particular situation will take much less time and there are fewer people involved, you will likely spend far less.
- Mediation will amount to less stress for all parties involved. A successful mediation has all parties feeling heard and with fair outcomes. Instead of feeling that you are in battle mode, mediation allows you to achieve resolution in a more cordial setting.
At Unified Mediation Services, there are four elements to a successful mediation:
- Initial complimentary consultation phone call
- Individual and joint intake meetings (includes clients sharing their goals and individual circumstances)
- Facilitated mediation session
- Drafting and signing of mediated Property Settlement Agreement (PSA
A simplified mediation consists of a single session that will last between 1-3 hours. The average costs of a simplified mediation is $1000. The following represents a breakdown of the total cost of a simplified mediation.
- Initial pre-mediation 15-minute consultation (per party if desired): FREE
- Intake session (usually lasts one hour): $200
- Mediation session fees: $400/hour (the mediation usually comprises one 1-2 hour session)
A complex mediation is a more involved process that consists of several sessions between all parties. The average cost of a complex mediation is $4,750. This following represents a breakdown of the total cost of all stages of the complex mediation process, including the drafting of a written agreement or a Mediated Property Settlement Agreement (PSA), depending on your needs. The costs can be more or less depending on your individual circumstances and the complexity of your case.
- Initial pre-mediation 15-minute consultation (per party if desired): FREE
- Intake session (usually lasts one hour): $250
- Mediation session fees: $400/hour (mediations usually comprise two 3-hour sessions held on different days)
- Drafting of a Mediated Property Settlement Agreement (PSA)/Mediation Agreement: $2100-$4000 (depending on the complexity of the case)