Massachusetts Divorce Lawyer Explains a Mediated Divorce vs. Arbitration

I am often asked as a Massachusetts Divorce Lawyer what the differences are between mediated divorce and arbitration.  In Massachusetts there’s really no such thing as arbitration in the mediated family law divorce arena. Arbitration is generally reserved for people undergoing business disputes or personal injury cases or any other type of issue that people litigating can have with each other. With arbitration, in those types of cases, they can either be binding or non-binding. In mediation, the purpose of the mediation is to come up with an agreement which can then be approved by a court and then it will be binding.

The process with arbitration is generally a little bit different. Generally, people including their lawyers sit around a table and there might be some informality but there also might be some use of the evidentiary rules in order to ensure that the information that’s being presented as evidence is accurate.  I advise clients as a Massachusetts Divorce Lawyer that in mediation, a lot of information is presented and verification is had where it’s needed but each party in a mediated setting has to agree that the information was provided, that they believed it to be true and that they believed it to be accurate; that’s generally stated in any divorce agreement so that’s the difference between mediation and arbitration.

If you are entering arbitration and need an experienced attorney on your side, contact our experienced Massachusetts Divorce Lawyers.

This educational blog was brought to you by Cynthia Hanley, an experienced Massachusetts Divorce Lawyer.