Should your Mediator draft Court Paperwork?

Once an agreement is reached, a mediator who is also an attorney can help the individuals prepare court documents, such as the Separation Agreement. If you need assistance preparing your Financial Statement, or you need advice as to whether an Agreement is in your best interest then you should consult with an individual attorney. Although, a Mediator can help you prepare an Agreement, they cannot provide you with individual legal advice.

Some attorneys do not believe it is appropriate, or "kosher", for attorney/mediators to prepare any court documents because it is too close to the services performed by individual legal counsel. At Kelsey & Trask, P.C. we assist our mediation clients in completing the necessary court forms to ensure that they have been adequately informed about how to successfully present a Joint Petition for Divorce. We believe the goal of a divorce mediation is to reach this successful conclusion and part of that is correctly filling out a Joint Petition for Divorce and the appropriate and required pleadings.

For other opinions on this issue check out the Email Exchange entitled Is it Kosher for an Attorney/Mediator to Draft Court Paperwork for Clients? located on page 22 of the Spring 2010 issue of the Family Mediation Quarterly.

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