Tampa Court-Ordered Divorce Mediation

Pre-Filing Mediation vs. Post-Filing Court-Ordered Mediation

In a contested divorce, the family courts of Florida require the divorcing spouses to engage in mandatory mediation before they can proceed to trial. This last-ditch effort can be surprisingly fruitful, especially with the looming prospect of spending many more months and thousands of dollars in litigation.

Increasingly, couples are bypassing the legal process altogether and opting to resolve divorce through pre-filing mediation also known as “pre-suit mediation.” This is a voluntary and nonbinding process that takes the anxiety and animosity out of negotiations. Spouses find that the non-adversarial atmosphere is conducive to a practical and amicable settlement.

Tampa attorney and mediator, Beth Reineke, is Certified by the Florida Supreme Court to conduct family law, custody and divorce mediations. She devotes the bulk of her practice to proactively resolving divorce through pre-filing mediations, and she is frequently selected by fellow family lawyers in the Tampa Bay Area to mediate post-filing court-ordered family law and divorce mediations. To discuss our mediation services in a free phone consultation, contact us online or call (813) 205-6675. You can also schedule a mediation with Beth Reineke by clicking here. Our Tampa office welcomes couples throughout Hillsborough County, Pinellas County and Pasco County, Florida.

Clearwater Mediator for Mandatory Mediation in Family Law Actions

Under Florida law, couples must attempt mediation before they can obtain temporary relief, or go to trial over property, child custody or other disputes. If the parties are entrenched and invested in litigating, they may grudgingly go through the motions to satisfy the court that they “tried” mediation. However, some couples do find that mandatory court-ordered mediation is useful for resolving conflicts and discovery disputes or at least narrowing the issues for trial.

The only time that Florida courts will not enforce mediation is in cases of domestic violence, child abuse, mental instability, substance abuse or the like. Especially if there is a protective or restraining order filed with the courts mediation may not be a court mandated option.

“In my experience, couples can save considerable time, money and heartache by voluntarily engaging in mediation on the front end before the divorce papers are filed. In other words, since you are going to be required to mediate at some point anyway … why not explore voluntary mediation and see where it leads?”
— Attorney Mediator Beth Reineke

Have Questions? We Have Answers!

Click on the button below to read through our Divorce Mediation FAQ.

Divorce Mediation FAQ