John S. Weaver, Esquire
Law Office of John S. Weaver
Rockville, Maryland Family Law Attorney
Serving Montgomery County, Frederick County, and Howard County
MEDIATION
John Weaver is a skilled and experienced mediatior, who has been trained in both mediation and collaborative divorce alternative dispute resolution (ADR). Mr. Weaver applies his negotiation and mediation knowledge and expertise to prepare, educate, and assist clients in their consideration and pursuit of settlement alternatives besides litigation where practicable. John Weaver is an experienced mediator who conducts private family law mediation - both in-person and remotely or virtually - involving property settlements, alimony and child support, child custody, visitation and parenting plans and child custody agreements. Mr. Weaver is also designated on the Circuit Court for Montgomery County's approved list of mediators for court-ordered alternative dispute resolution referrals in divorce actions to help parties represented by counsel resolve property division, pension division and support disputes. When the court directs parties to mediation to resolve property disputes, they are required to submit a Joint Statement of Marital Property and Nonmarital Property. Whether you need someone to represent you in mediation or collaborative divorce or you are seeking a skilled mediator to assist in resolution of your dispute, John Weaver is prepared to assist you in resolving your disputes. To assist you in identifying the kinds of issues that are addressed in mediation, click Mediation Checklist which covers child custody, child support, visitation, debts, alimony, real property, personal property, pension, life insurance, and other matters. The Mediation Process. Mediation is an alternative dispute resolution process where a third party neutral (i.e. the mediator) acts as a facilitator to assist the parties in resolving their dispute to their mutual satisfaction. You could even say that “mediation is facilitated negotiation.” The mediator’s role includes facilitating communication between the parties, assisting in identifying the real issues of the dispute and the parties’ interests, and generating options for settlement. The goal of mediation is that the parties themselves arrive at a mutually acceptable resolution of the dispute.
The various descriptions of collaborative and cooperative interests-based negotiation and mediation approaches highlight the importance of preparation and planning, a consideration of maintaining relationships, taking into account interests, formulating creative options that generate greater value, and evaluating the potential outcomes. An excellent introduction to understanding negotiations and mediation is Roger Fisher and William Ury’s book Getting to YES: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In. Getting to YES presents the cooperative principled negotiation as an alternative to the competitive positional bargaining approach. The elements of this principled or merits approach focuses on People, Interests, Options and Criteria. This method seeks to separate the people from the problem, so that disputants “come to see themselves as working side by side, attacking the problem, not each other.” The parties focus on interests, rather than positional demands. The parties seek to generate a variety of possibilities before deciding on a particular course, attempt to advance shared interests and creatively reconcile differing interests, and invent options for mutual gain.
For additional information, click Mediation Frequently Asked Questions.
Court Ordered Child Custody Mediation. The Court may order mediation of child custody and visitation disputes where it is appropriate and would likely be beneficial to the parties or the child. Mediation will not be ordered when there is a genuine issue of physical or sexual abuse of a party or child.
|