What does it mean when a mediator states that the mediation is at an impasse? In short, it means that the mediation was not successful in reaching a settlement agreement. The consequences of an impasse at mediation can have a very significant impact on the parties to a Florida Family Law case. The most obvious consequence is that a Family Law Judge will resolve the issues in your case. But this comes at a cost, especially if you are represented by legal counsel and have to pay additional legal fees.

In addition, it can cause a major delay in obtaining a resolution to your case. It is not uncommon that Florida Family Law Courts have a backlog of cases and trials are set months down the road. But an overlooked consequence is that often the last offers that are made at mediation before the impasse are more palatable than a Family Law Judge’s ruling.

So how can parties avoid an impasse at mediation? Our Florida Supreme Court Certified Mediators at Mediation of Coral Springs, Inc. have found that a successful mediation requires preparation and realistic expectations by the parties. It also requires some understanding as what causes an impasse and how to move around an impasse in order to reach a settlement.

The most prevalent reasons for an impasse in a Family Law mediation involve the parties’ emotions, a lack of information, communication skills, and a parties’ belief about what the outcome of their case should be.

Emotions can be very difficult to overcome but our Florida Supreme Court Certified Mediators make great effort to convince a party to acknowledge that his or her emotions are causing an impediment to reaching a settlement. Once emotions are set aside, it is Mediation of Coral Springs, Inc. that the parties will not impasse.

The lack of information is usually easy to overcome with our technological capabilities. Almost all financial documents can be accessed online or if a party has a relationship with a financial advisor – through email. Websites such as Zillow and Redfin can be used to obtain estimates of values of real property. There are a number of websites that can be used to value numerous types of personal property as well as vehicles and boats.

When the parties are unable to communicate with each other, our Florida Supreme Court Certified Mediators are quite experienced in facilitating communications between them and attempt to have them explain their future needs once their Family Law case has been settled.

A parties’ belief about how a Family Law Judge would decide the issues in their case requires our Florida Supreme Court Certified Mediators to have each party explain what they believe is the worst and best outcome of their case. After hearing their beliefs about possible outcomes, Mediation of Coral Springs, Inc. will ask the parties about other possible outcomes to make them understand that a Family Law Judge has numerous choices in how to resolve their case, many of which would not satisfy either party.

At Mediation of Coral Springs, Inc., the major goal of mediation is to come to a resolution of the issues that are involved in your Florida Family Law case and to avoid an impasse.