This page collects the authoritative sources behind the work at ADR Mediation Center: Florida law, court information, professional standards, peer-reviewed research, and support for situations where mediation is not the right fit. Charles Geller is a Florida Supreme Court Certified Mediator and has practiced family mediation in Florida since 2006. The links below are the primary sources he and his clients rely on.
Ready to talk? Request a free 30-minute consultation or call (407) 834-5800.
What Florida statutes govern divorce and mediation?
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Florida Statute § 61.052. Dissolution of marriage. Florida is a no-fault state. The only ground for dissolution is that the marriage is irretrievably broken.
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§ 61.075. Equitable distribution of marital assets and liabilities. Sets the framework for dividing marital property, including the seven statutory factors that adjust away from equal distribution.
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§ 61.13. Support of children; parenting and time-sharing; powers of court. Florida’s parenting-plan and time-sharing framework, including the 20+ statutory factors courts consider.
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§ 61.21. Parenting course requirement. Both parents of minor children must complete a 4-hour court-approved parenting course before final judgment.
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§ 61.30. Child support guidelines. The calculation Florida courts use to determine child support, based on parental income, overnights, healthcare, and childcare costs.
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§ 61.183. Mediation of certain contested issues. Authorizes courts to refer contested family issues to mediation.
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§ 44.102. Court-ordered mediation; domestic violence exception. Authorizes referral to mediation and carves out the documented-DV exception.
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§ 44.405. Mediation confidentiality and privilege. The statutory privilege that protects what is said in mediation from being used in a later court proceeding.
Where do I find Florida courts and mediator information?
- Florida Courts. Alternative Dispute Resolution. The Florida Supreme Court’s official page on mediation in the state’s court system.
- Florida Courts. Mediator Search. Searchable directory of all Florida Supreme Court Certified Mediators.
- Florida Dispute Resolution Center. The DRC sets certification standards for Florida mediators across all five certification categories.
- Florida Courts. History of ADR & Mediation. The Florida Supreme Court describes the state’s program as “one of the most comprehensive court-connected mediation programs in the country.”
- Florida Self-Help Center. Self-represented litigant resources, including dissolution-of-marriage forms.
Which professional organizations set the standards?
- Florida Academy of Professional Mediators (FAPM). The statewide professional association for Florida mediators. Charles is a FAPM Diplomate, the organization’s top credential level.
- The Florida Bar. Family Law Section. The Florida Bar’s section dedicated to family law practitioners.
- Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC). Interdisciplinary association of family-court professionals; co-publisher (with the ABA) of the Model Standards of Practice for Family and Divorce Mediation.
- American Bar Association. Family Law Section. The ABA’s 9,000-member section that publishes Family Advocate, which described mediation as “the default approach for family dispute resolution” in Fall 2023.
- ABA / AFCC Model Standards of Practice for Family and Divorce Mediation. The foundational national standards governing mediator conduct, self-determination, and child-welfare considerations.
What peer-reviewed research supports mediation?
These are the studies most often cited on the rest of the site. The full corpus is on the Why Mediation Beats Litigation pillar page.
- Emery, Sbarra & Grover (2005). Divorce Mediation: Research and Reflections. Family Court Review. The four-point summary of mediation’s lasting benefits, drawing on the 12-year Emery RCT.
- Emery et al. (2001). 12-year follow-up of mediation vs. litigation. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. Nonresidential parents who mediated maintained substantially more contact and better coparenting a decade later.
- van Dijk et al. (2020). meta-analysis of 115 samples. Clinical Psychology Review. Interparental conflict, not divorce itself, is what damages children’s adjustment.
- Shaw (2010). meta-analysis of divorce-mediation outcomes. Conflict Resolution Quarterly. Small-to-moderate effect favoring mediation across the controlled studies.
- McIntosh et al. (2008). child-focused divorce mediation. Family Court Review. Mediation models that explicitly center children’s needs produce measurably better one-year adjustment.
- Beck, Walsh & Weston (2005). domestic violence detection in mediation. Violence Against Women. The honest counter-evidence: mediators fail to detect DV in roughly 57% of cases that involve it.
- Beck & Sales (2004). systematic review of the family-mediation field. Conflict Resolution Quarterly. The original promises of the movement have held up empirically.
Where do I find free Florida divorce forms?
- Florida Family Law Forms. Self-Help Center. Court-approved forms for dissolution of marriage, parenting plans, financial affidavits, and child support guidelines worksheets. Free to download.
- Petition for Dissolution of Marriage with Minor Children (Form 12.901(b)(1)). The standard dissolution petition for couples with minor children.
- Family Law Financial Affidavit (Form 12.902(b) or 12.902(c)). Required financial disclosure form. Short form for income under $50,000; long form above that.
What if mediation isn’t the right path?
Mediation is the right path for most Florida divorcing couples. It is not the right path for every situation. If your circumstances include domestic violence, coercive control, or other factors that make mediation unsafe or unworkable, the resources below are starting points.
- Florida Domestic Violence Hotline. 1-800-500-1119. Confidential 24/7 hotline operated by the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
- National Domestic Violence Hotline. 1-800-799-7233. 24/7 confidential support, safety planning, and local resource referrals.
- Florida Bar Lawyer Referral Service. The Florida Bar’s statewide referral to family-law attorneys, with reduced-fee consultations available.
- Florida Legal Services. Civil legal aid for low-income Floridians, including family-law representation in qualifying cases.
- Florida Bar Foundation. Find Legal Help. Directory of legal-aid organizations across Florida.
About Charles Geller
Charles Geller has been a licensed clinical therapist for more than 30 years and a Florida Supreme Court Certified Mediator since 2006. He holds Florida Supreme Court certifications in Family, Civil, and Appellate Mediation. He is a Diplomate of the Florida Academy of Professional Mediators. He has guided more than 2,500 Florida mediations through mediated dissolution at ADR Mediation Center, which he founded in Orlando in 2007.
- About Charles Geller
- FAPM Diplomate Profile
- Mediate.com Profile
Ready to talk? Request a free 30-minute consultation, call (407) 834-5800, or email info@adrmediationcenter.com.