NCJ Number
103965
Date Published
1986
Length
46 pages
Annotation
Created for lawyer and nonlawyer mediators in divorce and other family disputes, the six standards in this handbook address the mediator's duties and responsibilities, rights of family participants, and goals and limitations of the mediation process.
Abstract
After defining family mediation, the handbook details standards established by the American Bar Association's Task Force on Mediation and discusses the purpose and practical applications of each. The standards address: (1) mediator's duty of defining and describing the process; (2) confidentiality; (3) impartiality of the mediator; (4) mediator's duty to assure that decisions are made on knowledge and understanding; (5) mediator's duty to suspend or terminate; (6) mediator's duty to advise participants to obtain independent legal representation. Discussion of individual standards cover such issues as fees, the relationship of mediation to the legal process, limits of confidentiality, promoting the best interests of children, full financial and factual disclosure, participants' unwillingness to negotiate, and timing of legal representation.