Online Family Law Mediation: The Futuristic Approach

Posted by MichealH Alexander on March 16th, 2021

The mediation process has become an effective team approach to settlement. The core members of the team include the mediator and the family members (and their lawyers, if they have retained any). Thereafter, mental health experts, divorce experts, accountants/financial professionals, and/or vocational experts can be added as needed to help address psychological, tax, retirement and employment concerns. The forensic computer engineers may be the newest member of the team. Computer forensics is a branch of digital forensic science concerning documentation found in computers, digital storage media, or cloud-based storage machines. The determination involves similar techniques and principles to data recovery, but with additional guidelines and practices designed to create an audit trail. A computer forensic technocrats preserves, identifies, extracts, documents, and interprets computer data.  All of these professionals can be used before, during or after your online family law mediation. Online Divorce Mediation

Protection of computer files concerning finances is essential in divorce mediation. During safeguarding, data identified as potentially relevant should be agreed upon in mediation not to be deleted or destroyed.  This could be deemed spoliation of evidence and you could be sanctioned.  Once documents have been stored, the collection is the transfer of data from a person or business to a client, or lawyer or their forensic computer expert. In mediation, you can address what computer files are relevant to the mediation and should be shared and which files can remain private as personal to a spouse.  These are often known as discovery disputes and can also be used for things like financial documents, business records, etc. If a computer is considered a “Personal” computer, it may be considered private by law; if it is a family or shared computer, it may not be private. The rationale is that a family or shared computer is similar to a shared filing cabinet. With in-person or online family law mediation, there typically must be transparency and full disclosure concerning finances. But, you have to obtain it through the proper channels; if financial data was inappropriately obtained by computer hacking, the financial information – while it may still be relevant to the mediation – typically cannot be used and you could be subject to sanctions or even criminal charges.  The action of one spouse violating a spouse’s or separated spouse’s privacy may need to be addressed in the mediation as well.

Mediated agreements concerning assisted reproductive technology, surrogacy and frozen embryos are now common.  Family disputes over pets or animals have emerged.  Online family law mediation is now a reality. South Florida Online Family Law Consultation

What more does the future hold?  Could will machines or robots be next? Will information from the family computer be useful in family mediation? Will mediators and participants in mediation be able to share financial records and information with a “blink of an eye” due to the internet and computer files appearing on contact lenses? We already have virtual glasses and 3D glasses for virtual experiences. Hardware and external accessories may become like the dinosaurs. With electronic chips implanted in our walls, streets, and medicine cabinets, voice-activated information and images could appear anywhere. Electronic gadgets are on the market, which provides access to the internet, digital information, and monitor health in devices, clothes, and wristbands. Driverless cars and electromagnetic transportation may change the way parents spend time with their children. With all these rapid generations of technology, will the nature of marriage and relationships change personal bonding issues and the development of intimacy by an increasingly virtual connection? Due to medical advances, transgender children will have more options for surgery, and treatments. More decisions will need to be made by families with transgender youth that family mediators can address. Will mental illness and special needs children lessen due to advanced genetic screening, neuroscience and use of stem cells and gene therapy? Will parents desire to make decisions whether to utilize genetic and robotic enhancements to their children, which will increase intelligence, talent or physical ability? Should family mediators be prepared to address such concerns? Currently, one is sometimes permitted to appear for a mediation conference by video conferencing. Perhaps in the future, holographic images of us will be present. One thing is certain, science and technological advances will continue to impact family life and mediation. The issues in family disputes that mediator will be asked to assist in resolving will continually change due to scientific advances and options in the twenty-first and twenty-second century.