While the divorce mediation success rate is very high, that doesn’t mean it’s the best dispute resolution method for every situation. Private judging is another alternative divorce remedy that involves a little more structure and authority without forcing couples to give up the flexibility offered by the mediation process. Unlike a mediator, who can only guide couples into a voluntary marital settlement agreement, a private judge has the power to step in and make a ruling when both parties become too entrenched to find common ground on an issue. The result is a process that retains the “teeth” of divorce litigation without the rigidity, endless delays, and impersonal bureaucracy that comes from a courtroom setting.
Your Divorce, Your Decisions
One of the greatest advantages of private judging is that it takes a lot of the small decisions out of your hands while allowing you to have control over the big ones. The most significant of these big decisions is also the first one you’ll have to make: which judge to hire. Choosing the right private judge is the most important thing you can do to ensure that your divorce is as painless as possible – relatively speaking, of course.
Unfortunately, the process is a little more complicated than just hopping on Yelp and picking the private judge with the most five-star reviews. You want to make sure you’re working with a judge who has experience not only in family law but also in the issues specific to your case. Have a ton of shared properties that will need to be divvied up? Find a judge who has handled plenty of financial or real estate cases in the past. Complicated family dynamics? Make sure you’re working with a judge who has extensive experience with custody or adoption cases. You’ll also want to ensure that you find someone you can communicate easily with so you can build a rapport. That personal touch is a major benefit of private judging and we highly recommend taking full advantage.
If you’re not sure where to start, asking your lawyer for some names is a great first step. Many divorce mediation services offer private judging as well, so you can also call one up and let them help you find the right judge for your situation.
Conflict-Free Divorce (Again, Relatively Speaking)
Divorce is always going to involve a lot of conflict, it’s just the nature of the beast. If you’ve reached the point where ending your relationship is the best possible option, then you’re most likely already not seeing eye-to-eye with your partner on some major issues. When you add asset division, child custody, and other concerns to the mix, you have a recipe for non-stop conflict and disagreement.
The mediation process addresses conflict by encouraging both parties to find common ground and exercise strategic thinking to find solutions together. This can work wonders in a lot of cases, but sometimes it’s just not enough. Even the most skilled and diplomatic mediators sometimes find themselves working with couples who just can’t reach an agreement. Whether it’s over a single issue or all of them at once, people can wind up entrenched in an endless stalemate.
Private judges don’t have that problem. When handling divorce cases, a good private judge will generally allow both parties the freedom they need to come to an agreement if possible. At the end of the day, however, a decision always has to be made, and judges have the authority to make it themselves. Ironically, a judge’s unilateral power to make rulings can often result in a more peaceful and cooperative divorce process, since both parties know that being overly stubborn will get them absolutely nowhere.
Of course, traditional litigation also involves judges with unilateral decision-making power. The difference here is really in the details of how a private judge chooses to oversee the process. In a courtroom setting, you’re pretty much always dealing with judges who have limited time and heavy caseloads, so you won’t be getting any personalized treatment. You’ll also end up working with two or three different judges by the time your divorce is final since separate sections of a case are often assigned to separate people. A private judge, on the other hand, can engage with both parties every step of the way, checking in, holding one-on-one meetings, and otherwise taking a more personal approach to make sure everyone is comfortable and willing to communicate at all times.
Ultimately, the less acrimonious your divorce is, the better. Not only are smooth, relatively peaceful divorces much less miserable but working with a private judge can actually help you and your soon-to-be ex-partner maintain a friendly relationship after the papers have been signed.
Reaching a Timely Resolution
For a lot of people, this is one of the most attractive aspects of hiring a private judge. After all, not a single person has ever finalized their divorce and thought “Gee, I wish that could have taken longer.” The process is stressful, emotionally difficult, and often pretty expensive, so the last thing anyone wants is to spend months or even years in a courtroom before they can finally move on. That doesn’t mean you necessarily want to rush through every decision, of course, but efficiency is the key to a smooth and comparatively painless divorce.
Courthouses are enormous and byzantine entities, handling thousands of unique cases with limited resources. Impressive? Undoubtedly. Efficient? Not even close. The average divorce case in California lasts for about a year and a half, and a lot of that time comes from delays and scheduling complications. Especially with the backlog of cases built up during the COVID-19 lockdowns, family courts all over the state are struggling to handle all that work in a timely manner.
Getting a private judge divorce in California, on the other hand, doesn’t generally take nearly as long. Private judges schedule their own caseloads, so they’re not nearly as overworked as public ones. They also don’t have to compete with other judges for time in the courtroom so you won’t be sitting around waiting for your case to finally make it to the schedule. In many cases, divorcing couples who hire private judges can wrap up every aspect of the case before the mandated six-month waiting period is finished.
For many couples, hiring a private judge is the best path to a fast, personalized, and relatively painless divorce. If you live in the Sacramento area and you think private judging might work for you, Forester Family Law is here for you. Formed during the COVID-19 pandemic by Sacramento family law attorney Neil Forester, FFL is a primarily virtual firm that blends creative ADR methods with discrete advisory counseling to help clients resolve a divorce, parenting dispute, or other family law conflict – outside the courtroom confines. Neil, a self-described “recovering litigator,” spent 18 years working in family law in Sacramento before discovering a passion for working outside the courtroom, and he brings the full weight of that experience to every case. If you’re interested in scheduling a consultation with Neil, you can contact us through our website here or give us a call at (916) 234-6060.