Does each spouse have a mediator or is there one mediator for the two of them?

There’s only one mediator. However, I highly recommend that both parties go to mediation with a lawyer. The mediator’s job is to broker a deal between the two parties, but the mediator’s job is not to explain the law to each party or to make sure it’s a fair agreement. That is the job of the lawyer. If you have lawyers involved from day one in mediation, it streamlines the process and the parties are able to reach a workable solution that will have fewer revisions going forward and will most likely result in a marital settlement agreement.

Alison C. Leslie, Esq. practices family law exclusively in her Morristown, NJ offices, where she offers her clients the individualized attention of a solo practitioner with the experience of a larger firm.