Mediation in Texas

A Divorce Mediation Lawyer Can Guide You To An Efficient Solution

Today, many divorcing couples seek a way forward that spares them from unnecessary costs—financial, emotional, and time. For them, mediation provides a value-oriented solution. And because mediation is an out-of-court divorce process, it enables divorcing couples to negotiate a settlement on their terms. In a traditional Texas mediation, an impartial mediator facilitates negotiations, and the divorcing individuals each retain lawyers to advise them during the mediation.

Together, the divorcing couples work to find common ground on finances, child custody, and other issues. As a result, mediation often leads to a final, mutually agreeable settlement. With trained and experienced mediators, mediation enables divorcing individuals to save precious resources for the next phase of their lives.

Our Mediation Services

At Goranson Bain Ausley, our Austin, Dallas and Plano locations offer a full range of mediation services including, divorce mediation for individuals who want to retain a family lawyer to represent them in mediation. We also provide mediation services for family lawyers who want an experienced mediator to mediate for their clients. And recently, we have introduced a new approach to mediation called self-represented mediation for couples who choose not to retain individual family lawyers and want an experienced mediator to mediate their divorce.

For Individuals

The Focused Resources of Goranson Bain Ausley

When you choose a Goranson Bain Ausley attorney to represent you in mediation, you gain the knowledge base that comes from a deep roster of skilled family lawyers. We offer experience with the full range of divorce issues, from complex financial matters to highly contested custody cases. In mediation, we work creatively to advocate for your interests. We focus on finding workable solutions that meet the overriding goal of an advantageous settlement. Above all, we are always looking out for your and your children’s future and securing the resources you will need to build it.

For Lawyers

The Mediators of Choice to Facilitate Lasting Agreements

Texas family lawyers call on Goranson Bain Ausley attorneys to facilitate their mediations with confidence. The reasons why begin with experience, training, and credentials. Our attorneys are recognized leaders in out-of-court settlement and conduct advanced mediation training courses for family lawyers throughout the U.S.

As the largest family law firm in Texas, we offer unequaled depth and breadth of resources. When you work with a Goranson Bain Ausley lawyer, you have access to the expertise of the entire firm. In addition, as experienced litigators, we can project likely courtroom outcomes and assist in the risk/benefit analysis that can move settlements forward.

An Efficient Divorce Option for Self-Reliant Couples

Avoiding the potential costs and complications of a courtroom divorce is a primary objective of many divorcing couples. Self-represented mediation is for couples who are committed to and willing to come to the table to work out a settlement through the mediation process with the aid of a skilled Goranson Bain Ausley mediator to guide the couple through the process of reaching a settlement. If you are among them, Goranson Bain Ausley offers self-represented mediation as an option to consider.

It is called “self-represented” mediation because a Goranson Bain Ausley attorney serves you in the role of a neutral mediator to facilitate settlement, not a lawyer to represent your personal interests. The mediator draws on specialized training to “chair” meetings between you and your spouse—guiding discussions, helping you find common ground, alerting you to potential legal issues, and suggesting options for reaching an agreement.

Self-represented mediation may be right for you if any of the following apply:

You and your spouse are both knowledgeable about your estate and can jointly identify the assets and debts of community property estate
You feel confident about navigating the divorce process yourselves without legal representation
You decide to co-parent and to work out an agreed parenting plan

Self-represented mediation begins with an initial consultation with a Goranson Bain Ausley attorney-mediator. The purpose is to ensure that it is a suitable process for you and your spouse and to identify any possible legal hurdles. If it is a go, you and the mediator will schedule a series of mediation sessions, which usually last two hours. For example, one may be devoted to children, another to property and retirement assets, and still another to shaping a final agreement.

As a matter of Texas law, the mediator cannot offer you and your spouse legal advice regarding your divorce. For that reason, Goranson Bain Ausley encourages individuals to hire a personal divorce attorney who will meet with you outside of mediation sessions, help you gather information, give you legal advice, and review settlement terms.

At the very least, you will need outside legal counsel to prepare the final settlement documents that will be presented to the court. However, the mediator can prepare a draft of the settlement that summarizes your discussions and suggests additional items for inclusion.

Under the right circumstances and with experienced guidance, self-represented mediation can be a cost-effective option for couples capable of managing their divorce outside of court. Instead of engaging in the mediation process at the end of the divorce process, the couple is engaging in mediation from the beginning and throughout the divorce process which saves the divorcing couple legal costs and makes for a more efficient process to resolving the disputed issues in the divorce. First, however, it is important that you enter into it well-informed about how it works

OUR mediation faqs

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Goranson Bain Ausley Texas Family Law Mediators

At Goranson Bain Ausley, our mediators in Austin, Plano, and Dallas have the requisite training and certification in mediation that you need for achieving the best possible outcome. If you are an individual looking for a lawyer to represent you in mediation, a family lawyer looking for an experienced mediator, or a couple interested in self-represented mediation, we are here to help.

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Our duties to our current and former clients require that we observe certain formalities before agreeing to represent anyone in a new matter. Before undertaking a new matter, our duties to current and former clients require us to determine whether there is any actual or potential conflict of interest that would preclude us from accepting the new matter. No attorney-client relationship can or will be established between you and GBA until GBA has determined that no conflict of interest exists between you and any of its current and former clients. Prior to the establishment of a formal attorney-client relationship, you should not send or disclose any confidential information to anyone at GBA by letter, fax, telephone, or email as any information received from you by GBA prior to that time will not be considered confidential or privileged and will not be protected from disclosure.

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