CLICK ON TITLE TO WATCH VIDEO. TEXT OF VIDEO:  Hi, my name is Dave Hunter, and I am divorce and family law attorney and mediator here in Utah, and have worked on hundreds of divorce, custody and other domestic cases. This video answers the question: What are the potential downsides to mediation? Compared to the benefits, the potential downsides of mediation are usually minimal. First, because mediation is a voluntary process and a party does not have to agree and sometimes that does happen. If that happens, then mediation was an additional expense to the process. However, at least one session of mediation is usually mandated by the court anyway, so it allows you to move forward in your case. Second, if parties do not have the information necessary to make good decisions, mediation might need to be delayed until the information is obtained. For example, if one issue is support, and you don’t know what the other party earns, you should obtain it so mediation can be successful. However, often, scheduling mediation accelerates the sharing of information between the parties. Next, some have fear that their case won’t settle in mediation. However, many who come hoping that their case would settle, but believing that theirs would not, are surprised to walk out of mediation with an agreement, and can better move forward in their lives. In my mediation practice, because of my experience, nearly all cases settle in mediation. In weighing the potential benefits and potential downsides of mediation, it is nearly always the right choice to mediation early and often and the best choice for your family. Again, my name is Dave Hunter, and I am an attorney and mediator, and have worked on hundreds of divorce, custody and other similar cases for more than a decade. I hope this information was useful. If you liked this video, please click “I like this” below, and leave us a comment. Call us to schedule a mediation session, or go online to see our mediation calendar and book online today. I hope this information was useful. If you liked this video, please click “I like this” below, and leave us a comment. I have other related videos you can also watch. Call us to schedule a mediation session, or go online to see our mediation calendar and book online today. Thank you for watching.