mediation
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...Creative solutions are often just a helping hand away!
Being involved in any dispute, whether it is trying to work out an acceptable parenting plan for your children while going through a divorce or simply having a contract dispute, can be a very trying time. The frustration level (and the cost) goes up considerably if the dispute is being litigated in court. Fortunately, there is another option. Facilitative Mediation.
Mediation puts the parties in control. Mediation empowers the participants to formulate creative solutions that meet the needs of all parties. It eliminate the traditional winner take all approach in favor of a collaborative approach where it is the parties interests rather than who is "right" which leads the discussion.
Yellowstone Mediation Services, L.L.C. is here to help you resolve your disputes in an efficient and acceptable manner. We use a neutral third party to facilitate a collaborative conversation between the parties and help focus the discussion on interests rather than wasting your valuable time and money arguing about who is right.
Serving all of eastern and central Montana, we are dedicated to providing you with the most effective dispute resolution services possible by adhering to the highest of ethical and professional standards. Always neutral and always confidential, we help parties create their own unique solutions to a variety of disputes through facilitating a learning conversation where the needs and interests of all parties can be best met.
The role of the mediator includes:
- remain neutral & impartial
- helping parties feel heard
- helping participants to hear others
- facilitate communication
- explore needs & develop options
- bridge difference & balance power
Some situations appropriate for mediation include:
- divorce / dissolution
- parenting plans
- elder care issues
- employer - employee relations
- contract disagreements
- prenuptial or postnuptial agreements
- preventive mediation
Of course, not every dispute is appropriate for mediation. The mediator is there to help facilitate a conversation between the parties and to allow them to reach a creative solution. In order for it to work though, the parties must agree to participate and be open to cooperating, speaking honestly, and listening. The parties do not have to agree, but they do need to communicate. If one party is simply unable or unwilling to participate, then mediation will not be a viable or successful option. Parties must also realize that, particularly where there are issues of property division (such as in a divorce), full disclosure is essential. If an agreement is made between the parties and it is later discovered that one party was hiding assets, a court of law may overturn the agreement. If this happens, you can rest assured that the court will not look favorably on the party who failed to disclose the assets.
Most of the time, once the process has been explained, parties are willing though. Rather than the forced result that is inevitable if you go to court, mediation allows the parties to fashion a creative solution which is not bound by legal principles and which best suits their individual needs. If the parties are willing, mediation is almost always the best alternative!
Unlike some law firms or counseling services in Montana which provide mediation services as a secondary offering to their primary practice, at Yellowstone Mediation Services, alternate dispute resolution is all we do. Why settle for someone who performs mediation as a secondary objective? Trust your dispute mediation to the expert. Contact Yellowstone Mediation Services for a free, confidential, no obligation consultation today.
Settlement Conferences
Our primary business is facilitated mediation in a scenario where the parties have, or have the possibility of, an ongoing relationship. We do offer civil litigation settlement conference services in some instances though.
Although the actual numbers reported vary depending on who you ask, there is no disputing the fact that more than 90 percent of the civil suits filed today settle out of court before going to trial. By entering into a facilitated settlement conference with a neutral third party mediator, parties can save substantial sums of money by avoiding court costs and additional trial preparation work. Yellowstone Mediation Services also provides professional and confidential settlement conferences which allow the parties to save both time and money by settling before trial.
guardian ad litem
...because it really should be about the children
In addition to offering professional mediation and other alternate dispute resolution services, Yellowstone Mediation Services provides child advocate and guardian ad litem representation to children in Montana. The role of a special child advocate or guardian ad litem is to do an investigation into a child's situation and present the court with a report so as to promote an outcome which really is in the child's best interest. By viewing the situation from a neutral third party perspective, a child advocate or guardian ad litem is almost always better situated to assess what is truly in the child's best interest without the inherent bias of those closely involved in tough family situations.
Our mission revolves around improving the quality of family and community life in Montana. With that goal in mind, what better place to start building for a better tomorrow than by standing up for our children and helping to ensure the best possible world for our next generation.
more about mediation
Curious to learn more about how mediation works and how it can help you resolve your dispute? Please browse around our site and be sure to check out the F.A.Q. section for answers to many of the most common questions about mediation. For an even more in-depth look at the facilitative mediation process, take a look at one or more of our informative mediation articles!
