Utah Divorce Mediators: Who Should I Choose?
When people start the divorce process, they worry about going to trial.
Why? Because every legal show on TV revolves around going to trial. Well, like so much of life, TV isn’t reality.
Only about 1%–2% of contested Utah divorce cases ever go to trial.
In contrast, almost 100% of Utah divorce cases go to mediation.
Mediation is where the vast majority of Utah divorces are negotiated and solved.
This means the mediator you choose to help you with mediation will likely affect your case more than the judge assigned to your case. And you get to choose your mediator.
Think about that for a moment: you get to choose the person who will impact your case more than your judge.
That’s why choosing the right mediator is really important.
So, Which Utah Divorce Mediator Should I Choose?
I wish I could tell you there was one mediator you should choose above all others, but I can’t.
As with every important decision in life, there are considerations to look at. Here are some things you should consider when picking a divorce mediator:
- Exclusive dedication to divorce mediation.
You don’t want a generalist mediator to do your divorce mediation. Just like you don’t want to hire a divorce attorney who does ten divorces a year. You want an expert in divorce law and divorce mediation as your mediator.
- Experience.
All things being equal, you want a mediator who’s done divorce mediation for a while. It takes hundreds of divorce mediations to figure out the intricacies of helping people with their emotions and bringing them together to an agreement. I would say 500 divorce mediations is a good number to shoot for when choosing a mediator.
- Availability.
If a Utah divorce mediator can get you in tomorrow or next week, that means they’re probably not that good and you probably don’t want to hire them.
You want someone who’s booked out for a little while because that means they’re in demand and divorce attorneys are using them.
Most of the mediators we use are booked out six weeks to two months.
- Cost.
The best Utah divorce mediators worth are usually around $200–$250 per hour. There are some very good ones near $100 per hour, but you have to be in the know to figure out which ones they are. Anything less than $100 per hour is a waste of time because they aren’t that good. Anything over $300 an hour and your way overpaying.
Where to Find Utah Divorce Mediators?
Google is an okay resource when searching for a mediator. You have to be careful, though, because the best mediators in Utah don’t really have much of a web presence. They’re old school, which means they’re hired because of their reputation in the legal community, not because they market well.
That said, if you want to hire a divorce mediator yourself, use the considerations listed above and start making calls to mediators you find on Google. Interview them over the phone. Ask them how they structure their mediations. Ask them how much experience they have. Go through the list until you find that mediator who meets your criteria.
Hint: the best way to find the mediator right for your case is to choose a good divorce attorney. Your attorney will know who to use.
As a Divorce Attorney, Which Divorce Mediator Do You Choose?
At Brown Family Law, we focus exclusively on helping people with divorce. This means we use divorce mediators all the time.
With our experience, we have a group of trusted mediators we use in our cases. We don’t have one we use all the time, however, because every mediator has strengths and weaknesses, and we need to match those to each of our clients.
This helps us ensure the mediator we choose will be the best choice for our client, and will help us successfully negotiate our client’s divorce.
Call Brown Family Law
If you find yourself facing a divorce, please call 801.685.9999 for a legal in-person consultation, or use our online scheduling tool.
