Neutral Evaluation Services in San Mateo, CA

Family law disputes can be complex, emotional cases. Parents frequently disagree about child custody schedules, amounts of spousal or child support, and what is actually in the best interests of their children.

Because all parties feel so strongly that they're in the right, attorneys can struggle to break through parents' expectations and entrenched positions. In this emotionally charged environment, more and more courts and practitioners are turning to neutral evaluation as a tool to provide clarity, reduce conflict, and promote early resolution of cases. But what exactly is Neutral Evaluation, and how does it compare to other forms of alternative dispute resolution?

What Is Neutral Evaluation and Why Was It Developed?

Neutral evaluation is an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) process, which are processes meant to resolve a dispute with less court time, or even avoid court entirely. In a neutral evaluation case, a trained evaluator reviews a case's key issues and provides an assessment of its strengths, weaknesses, and likely outcomes if it reaches court. Their findings are meant to help the parties see where their case stands.

Neutral evaluation was developed to fix a common problem in litigation: parties often proceed with costly, emotionally draining court battles due to a lack of professional-level clarity and understanding of how a judge will rule. Neutral evaluation offers an early "reality check", helping parties understand their legal landscape before they invest time and energy in a trial. Courts also benefit from neutral evaluation because cases that don't go to trial reduce the workload for an often-strained system.

Comparing Different Types of Alternative Dispute Resolution

Although mediation, arbitration, and neutral evaluation are all different forms of ADR, they attempt to resolve disputes in very different ways. Picking the form of ADR appropriate for your case is vital to achieving a successful outcome.

• Mediation: A neutral evaluator is more focused on sizing things up than finding compromise, whereas a mediator works to improve communication, learn where parties' interests lie, and help the sides craft their own agreement. Mediation is useful when the barrier to settlement is communication, while neutral evaluation is useful when the issue is differing views of the law or evidence.
• Arbitration: Arbitration is likely chosen when parties want finality without a full court, while neutral evaluation is chosen when they want insight into how a court will go if they decide to go to trial, with the hope that that insight will allow the parties to avoid a trial they know the likely outcome of.

In family law cases, all three of these ADR avenues can be helpful, and which is most appropriate often depends on the needs of the parties. An experienced attorney will help determine which path will deliver the most value.

How Is Neutral Evaluation Structured in a Typical Family Law Case?

Although procedures can vary quite a great deal depending on your jurisdiction, most neutral evaluation processes follow this basic template:

• Referral. The court refers the case to neutral evaluation, or the parties may suggest it themselves and ask for a referral.
• Submission of brief statements. Before a full session with the evaluator, each side provides a short summary of the issues, facts, and documents.
• Joint session. The parties and their attorneys meet with the evaluator. Each side presents its perspective, and the evaluator asks clarifying questions.
• Evaluator's assessment. The evaluator offers their assessment of the likely outcome if the case were to go before a judge, in person or in writing. This often includes an analysis of custodial or financial issues, as well as evidentiary strengths and weaknesses.
• Post‑assessment discussion. Parties can then use the evaluator's feedback as a starting point for settlement negotiation or mediation.

The neutral evaluation process, unlike arbitration, has a finding that is always non-binding. The goal is not to decide the case, but to let everyone know where they stand if the case goes to trial.

Why Family Law Courts Have Taken to Neutral Evaluation

As family courts' caseloads increase, neutral evaluation has become more popular, because it gives everyone a practical way to resolve disputes earlier and with less conflict. Neutral evaluation complements other forms of ADR by providing expert insight and clarity at a critical moment in the case: before they commit to costly litigation.

Speak With a Trusted Advisor

ADZ Law provides neutral evaluation and other ADR services in the San Francisco Bay Area and in the greater California area. We invite you to contact us and schedule a confidential consultation to learn more about our services and how we can help you.