MEDIATION
Family Mediation in Austin, Texas & Surrounding Areas
One neutral mediator, two parties, one signed agreement. Virtual sessions for families across Texas.
A guided conversation, not a courtroom battle
Mediation is a confidential session where a neutral third party, Victoria, helps you and the other side reach an agreement you both sign. Nobody rules against you, because nobody rules at all. You keep the decisions; she keeps the conversation moving.
Because Victoria has spent twenty years litigating family cases, she knows what a Texas judge is likely to do with your facts. That perspective is exactly what helps two sides find the middle without spending a year in court to learn the same answer.
Sessions run virtually over Zoom for families anywhere in Texas. Each side can sit in its own (virtual) room, so you never have to face the other party if you prefer not to.
Most family cases in Travis and Williamson County are ordered to mediation before trial anyway. Doing it early, and doing it with someone who knows the courtrooms you would otherwise end up in, is how you turn a requirement into the moment the case actually ends.
Mediation fits when…
✓ You both want it settled, even if you disagree on the terms
✓ You want privacy instead of a public court record
✓ You want to protect children from a drawn-out fight
✓ You want a known, flat cost instead of open-ended fees
Family violence, hidden assets, or a party acting in bad faith? Mediation may not be the right first step, and we will tell you honestly.
WHAT YOU SIGN
The agreement is not a handshake. It holds.
People sometimes walk into mediation thinking it’s a softer, less official version of court, and that whatever comes out of it can be revisited later. In Texas that isn’t how it works, and it’s worth understanding before you sit down.
An agreement reached in mediation is binding under the Texas Family Code when it does three things: it says, in a prominently displayed statement in boldfaced type, capital letters or underlining, that it is not subject to revocation; each party signs it; and any attorney present when it is signed also signs it. Section 6.602 sets that out for a divorce and section 153.0071 for a case about the children. Look for that revocation statement on the page in front of you, because without it the document is an ordinary settlement agreement that a party can still withdraw from. Once those three requirements are met, either of you is entitled to judgment on it, whatever a judge might have decided independently. On terms about the children there is a narrow exception. A judge can decline only where family violence affected a party’s ability to make decisions, or the agreement would put a child in the household of, or in unsupervised contact with, a person with an abuse history or a sex offender registration, and the judge also finds the agreement is not in the child’s best interest.
After the session, the MSA goes to whichever party is filing (or to their attorney), the final decree or order is prepared to match it, and the court signs. For most families that last step is a short prove-up hearing or, in Travis and Williamson County, often just paperwork.
What an MSA can settle
✓ Division of the house, accounts, retirement and debts
✓ Conservatorship and the possession schedule
✓ Child support, medical and dental support
✓ Spousal maintenance, where it applies
✓ Changes to an existing order, in a modification case
Anything left unresolved goes back to the normal process, but narrower. A partial MSA is still binding on the parts it covers.
THE PROCESS
Four steps to resolution
01
Prepare
Both parties sign the agreement to mediate and share a short summary of where things stand.
02
Convene
We meet over Zoom. Each side settles into its own room with its own space to speak freely.
03
Negotiate
Victoria moves between rooms, carrying offers back and forth and testing each against real-world outcomes.
04
Resolve
Terms become a signed Mediated Settlement Agreement: binding, private, and yours, the same day.
Bring to the session
✓ A short written summary of what you want and why
✓ Recent pay stubs or tax returns, if support is on the table
✓ A list of the main assets and debts with rough values
✓ The current order, if you’re modifying one
✓ A quiet room, a charged laptop and a couple of hours you won’t be interrupted
You’ll get a short intake form when you book. Filling it in is most of the preparation.
ON THE DAY
How a virtual mediation actually runs
Sessions run over Zoom. That isn’t a pandemic leftover, it’s the format that works best for family cases. Nobody shares a waiting room, nobody drives across Austin, and when things get tense either side can step away and breathe in their own space. A parent in Georgetown and a parent who has already moved to Dallas can mediate on the same afternoon.
Everyone starts together for a few minutes so Victoria can explain the ground rules and confirm that both of you actually want to be there. Then the two of you go into separate breakout rooms. From that point she moves between them. She carries offers, asks the questions each side needs to hear, and, because she has spent twenty years in front of Travis and Williamson County judges, she’ll tell you plainly when a position is one a court would never give you. That candour is what moves people off entrenched numbers.
You don’t have to face the other party at all if you’d rather not. Some couples never see each other after the opening. Others ask to come back into the main room to talk directly once the temperature has dropped. Both are fine.
Attorneys are welcome and never required. If you have one, they sit in your room with you and advise you privately. If you don’t, Victoria stays neutral, which means she can explain what the law usually does but can’t tell either of you what to accept. Many people mediate without counsel. If you do, have a lawyer review the agreement before you sign it, not afterwards. Once you sign, the agreement is binding and either party is entitled to judgment on it. A lawyer can still help after signing with the decree and the filings, but the terms themselves are fixed at signature. Half-day sessions cover most disputes with one or two issues. Full days are for cases with property, children and support all in play.
One more ground rule, and it protects everyone: the session is confidential, and attendance is limited to the parties, their attorneys if they have them, and the mediator. No outside participants may join.
TRANSPARENT RATES
Flat. Published. Honored.
No hourly meters, no surprises.* Each party pays its own share, and attorneys are welcome but never required.
Half-Day Session
$550 / party
Full-Day Session
$1,100 / party
Includes preparation review and drafting of the Mediated Settlement Agreement on the day. Each party’s own attorney fees, if any, are separate. *If a session runs past its booked time, additional time is billed as set out in the mediation agreement both parties sign before the session.
HONEST LIMITS
When mediation isn’t the right first step
Family violence
Where there is a history of violence or coercion, the power imbalance makes a “voluntary” agreement anything but. Texas law gives you a specific right to object, and it is a right you have to use rather than wait for. Under Texas Family Code sections 6.602 and 153.0071 you may file a written objection to a referral to mediation on the basis of family violence, at any time before the final mediation order. Once you do, the case cannot be sent to mediation unless a hearing is held and the court finds the evidence does not support your objection. If it is sent anyway, the court has to order that you are not required to have face-to-face contact and that the two of you are placed in separate rooms. Victoria will say so rather than push a session that shouldn’t happen, and a protective order may come first.
Hidden assets
You can’t divide what you can’t see. If one spouse controls the money and won’t open the books, formal discovery through a contested case may need to come before anyone talks settlement. Mediation can still happen later, on real numbers.
Bad faith
Someone who books a session to stall, to gather information, or to wear the other side down isn’t there to settle. Experienced mediators spot it quickly. When it happens, the honest advice is to stop and let the court set the pace.
And if it simply doesn’t settle
You lose very little. Texas law makes what is said in mediation confidential and generally inadmissible, so neither side has shown its hand. The protection has limits. Evidence that can be reached independently of the mediation stays available, and nothing said in a session overrides the legal duty to report suspected child abuse or neglect. Most cases that don’t settle in full settle in part, and the rest goes forward narrower and cheaper. Read what happens next in what happens if mediation fails.
CREDENTIALS
Credentialed & courtroom-tested
40-hour
Basic mediation training
30-hour
Advanced family mediation training
20 years
Texas family law practice
FOR ATTORNEYS
Refer a mediation with confidence
Propose Victoria by name to opposing counsel. Conflicts are checked before any date is confirmed, position statements are welcome, and scheduling runs through one email thread. No phone tag.
GO DEEPER
Read before you book
Four short guides Victoria wrote for people weighing mediation. Each answers one question properly, without a sales pitch.
How divorce mediation works in Texas
The rules, the roles and the sequence, from the agreement to mediate through to the signed MSA.
What divorce mediation costs in Texas
Flat rates versus hourly, who pays what, and why the total is usually a fraction of a contested case.
How to prepare for divorce mediation
The documents, the mindset and the one thing most people forget to work out before they log on.
What happens if mediation fails
Partial agreements, the confidentiality that protects you, and what the road to court looks like from there.
Is a mediated agreement legally binding?
Yes. A Mediated Settlement Agreement that meets the requirements of the Texas Family Code is binding once signed and generally cannot be revoked. It becomes the foundation of your final court order.
Do we need our own attorneys to mediate?
No, attorneys are optional. Many parties mediate without them. That said, the mediator stays neutral and cannot give either side legal advice, so having your own counsel review the terms before you sign is always a smart step. After signature the agreement is binding, so a review afterwards cannot change what you agreed.
What if we only agree on some things?
Partial agreements are still progress. Everything you settle in mediation narrows what remains, which shortens and cheapens anything that does continue.
How soon can we mediate?
Usually within a few weeks. Virtual sessions make scheduling far easier, because nobody needs to travel or book a conference room.
Is mediation confidential?
Yes. Texas law protects mediation communications. What is said in the session is generally confidential and inadmissible, with limited exceptions under Texas law, which is what lets people speak freely enough to settle.
What does mediation cost, and who pays?
Rates are flat and published above: $550 per party for a half day, $1,100 per party for a full day. Each side pays its own share, which most people split evenly. Compare that with a contested divorce, where two attorneys billing hourly through discovery and hearings routinely run into five figures per side.
Can I change my mind after signing the MSA?
Almost never. A properly drafted MSA is irrevocable by statute. That is exactly why the agreement is read through line by line before anyone signs, and why bringing your own attorney, or having one review the terms before you sign, is sensible if anything feels unclear.
Can we mediate custody and a parenting schedule, not just money?
Yes, and it’s often where mediation does the most good. Parents know their children’s routines far better than a judge ever will. Conservatorship, the possession schedule, holidays, exchanges, decision-making and child support can all be settled in a single session and written into the MSA.
Do we still need to go to court afterwards?
Briefly, or sometimes not at all in person. The MSA becomes the basis of a final decree or order that the court signs. In Travis and Williamson County that usually means a short prove-up, and for many uncontested matters it is handled on paper.
GET IN TOUCH
Refer a case, or book a session
Attorneys and parties both start here. Tell us the shape of the dispute and we will come back with dates.
Or call 346-476-6939
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