The divorce process is intended to achieve a tie. In the civil and criminal parts of the court system, the focus is to determine fault. Once fault is determined, the responsible party either pays damages or suffers criminal penalties. In the matrimonial process, fault is irrelevant. The system is not concerned with who did what to whom. The goal of the judge is to determine how to fairly divide the marital estate or allocate parenting time.

Reasonable people with reasonable attorneys ought to be able to settle their cases, and they usually do. Litigants involved in the divorce process are far better equipped to make the decisions by which they can find a fair solution to the issues involved in their case and they need to be assisted in their attempts to do so.

There are certain cases which have to be litigated. However, the truth is that litigation is usually counterproductive. In fact, very few cases (probably less than one percent of all divorces) in the state are tried to conclusion. It is enormously expensive to try a case. Most litigants cannot afford the cost of a trial and they could put their money to far better use.

More and more people are becoming aware of mediation as a more cost efficient, less acrimonious method of resolving their matters. There are pilot programs in several counties, which permit courts to direct litigants to participate in both custody and economic mediation in an attempt to settle cases without the need for expensive and time-consuming trials.

All counties have Early Settlement Panels in which attorneys who practice serve as volunteers to consider cases and recommended settlements.

The judicial system wants to move as many cases as quickly as possible. It behooves both the litigants and their attorneys to begin focusing on ways to settle as early in the process as possible.