Voluntary Settlements
Most consumers of Family Law litigation are confused by the various ways the community refers to methods of resolving the dispute.
if you are in the Court process you will find that the Judge assigned to your case will order a andatory Settlement Conference, (MSC ) , prior to setting your case for trial.
Usually long before you are ready for trial , your assigned Judge will suggest or order you to participate on a Voluntary Settlement Conference, ( VSC ) or Mediation.
These are technical terms and they have special meaning in the law. Only a Mediation is a confidential proceeding protecting you from the unfavorable outcome that if this effort fails to settle your case, your statements could be used against you later in Court.
Judge Gretchen Taylor only uses the confidential Mediation model although a session with her cloaked with this protection and privilege can serve as a voluntary settlement conference just as well, if not better.
The confidentiality of the mediation process allows for honest and original thinking to be placed with confidence on the menu of options, usually allowing for an original and case specific outcome to reveal itself.