Professional Mediation & Arbitration Services

Wake Family Law Group provides professional mediation and arbitration services in North Carolina to assist couples in the resolution of disputes pertaining to child custody, child support, spousal support, property division and related family matters.

Mediation in North Carolina is an attractive alternative to litigation that involves working with a neutral third-party to reach a mutually acceptable agreement. The mediator does not possess the power to impose an agreement on either party, but a skilled North Carolina mediator can often help couples voluntarily resolve their differences even after other methods have failed. 

Four of our attorneys serve as professional mediators and have received positive reviews from other North Carolina family law attorneys across Wake County.

• Michael Schilawski, a principal with Wake Family Law Group, is an experienced family law attorney who is uniquely qualified to assist families in North Carolina divorce mediation. He has received extensive mediation training and has spent several years working as an NC family law mediator, arbitrator and neutral case evaluator. He is certified to conduct equitable distribution and other family law financial settlement conferences by the North Carolina Dispute Resolution Commission.
  
  
• Helen Oliver, a principal with Wake Family Law Group, is certified by the North Carolina Dispute Resolution Commission as a certified Family Financial Mediator. She has assisted many parties in successfully resolving their North Carolina family law disputes through mediation.
  
  
• Nancy Grace, a principal with Wake Family Law Group, is certified as a Family Financial Mediator by the North Carolina Dispute Resolution Commission.  She has extensive experience mediating family law matters and is a Board Certified Specialist in Family Law and Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.
  
  

Married couples in North Carolina who are contemplating a separation and divorce may voluntarily participate in mediation prior to or after initiating legal proceedings.  Once parties file an action for child custody or equitable distribution in North Carolina, a judge will require that they mediate these two issues prior to a trial.

Mediation is an opportunity for you to resolve conflicts before, during or after divorce in North Carolina, but it may not work in all instances. Couples must have a desire to resolve issues and be willing to work together to reach a settlement.

• Mediation in North Carolina leads to settlement 50 to 80% of the time
  
• Mediated agreements tend to be more personalized than court-ordered resolutions
  
• North Carolina couples who mediate typically are satisfied with the results
  
• Mediating couples in North Carolina tend to resolve issues in substantially less time and at a lower cost than couples who litigate
  

The Advantages of Mediation

• Mediation allows the ability to control your own destiny: Work with an unbiased North Carolina mediator rather than leaving your fate in the hands of a judge.
• A flexible way to resolve issues: You can participate in mediation at anytime.
• An informal atmosphere: Mediation is conducted in an informal conference room environment.
• A non-threatening environment: The professional mediator remains objective and does not serve as legal counsel for either party. You decide if you want legal counsel to be present during the mediation.
• The potential for partial success: Even if you can’t resolve all of the issues, mediation allows the opportunity to settle some conflicts and reserve remaining issues for trial.
• A binding legal agreement: Mediation can result in binding agreements and court orders that carry the full weight of the law.

Parenting Coordinators

Two of our attorneys, Helen Oliver and Katie King, serve as Parenting Coordinators in Wake County. A Parenting Coordinator (PC) may be appointed by a judge or with consent of the parties in a high conflict custody case. The PC's role is as specified in the order appointing the PC, which may include helping the parents identify disputed custody issues, reduce misunderstandings, clarify priorities, explore possibilities of compromise, develop methods of collaboration in parenting, and comply with the court's custody order. In addition, a PC may be given decision making authority over certain custody issues.

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