As an attorney turned mediator, I get this question all the time: What’s the difference between mediation and litigation? A lot! Anyone who’s been divorced knows it takes years to recover. Even “friendly” divorces are costly emotionally and financially. Bitter divorces are nearly impossible to recover from, and the scars can last a lifetime.Litigation is expensive: litigated divorces can cost each party $5,000 to $35,000 – more if it’s hostile. All-out war is the aim; blame - the weapon of choice, and revenge, the goal. Lines are drawn; family and friends are drafted as soldiers for each camp. Attorneys strategize like wartime generals, as they should. Remember, an attorney’s ethical duty is to zealously advocate for a client. “The best interests of the children,” is a grenade lobbed between camps, and lost is any recognition of the need for a respectful, ongoing relationship as co-parents.Litigation is risky: parties give up control of their own destinies. Attorneys argue, and a judge or jury decides your collective fate and that of your children. How to change it? More litigation, more cost, more hostility.Mediation is efficient: parties control the sessions, the issues and the resolutions, with the help of a neutral facilitator. Mediators can save people thousands of dollars in immediate and future legal fees, by focusing on creating the best possible future and resolving issues in the best interests of their children, and their own personal well-being.Mediation is future-focused. We believe parties are in the best position to decide what is best for their children and themselves. We help them do that.