Mediation
Mediation is a process whereby the parties and their attorneys meet with a neutral third party in an effort to resolve their case. In the family law setting, the mediator will typically be another family law attorney who has experience in the court in which your case is pending.
If the parties are able to reach agreements on the contested issues, the mediator will memorialize those agreements in a document called a Mediated Settlement Agreement, which will be signed by the parties, the attorneys, and the mediator.  That document may be only 4 or 5 pages long.  The attorneys will then take that Mediated Settlement Agreement and incorporate it into a formal, enforceable order that may be 20-40 pages long.  
The benefit to executing a mediated settlement agreement is finality and certainty.  You will leave the mediation with a binding, irrevocable agreement, which is not subject to buyer’s remorse afterward.  You will know the specific terms of your case’s resolution and can sleep better having mitigated your risk that things may not have gone as well in court as you would have hoped and can feel good knowing that you—and not a stranger in a black robe—has crafted an agreement that you both can live with and that will serve the best interest of your children.
If you don’t reach agreements at the mediation, certainly you will each have your day in court.  But it’s important to know what that really means.  It means that you’ll both pay attorneys a significant amount of money to have a judge who doesn’t know you or your family make decisions about your life that may not work well for either of you.  In many instances, the Court will apply a cookie cutter result to your case.  The judge is not likely to chastise the other person for any wrongdoing—even extensive wrongdoing.  The judge will usually just announce the ruling and move on, and you may be left with no satisfaction from the result and no control over the result.  To the contrary, mediation allows you to craft a result that works for you and your family.  But understand, no one leaves a successful mediation feeling like they got 100% of what they wanted because give-and-take is a key component, but it will likely be a result that you can live with.
At mediation, it’s important to leave behind any ideas about winning or losing and focus on reaching an agreement that makes sense for both of you and that will enable you to salvage a civil, pleasant enough relationship moving forward for the benefit of your children and for your own peace and sanity. 
Attorney Courtney Kaisand is a certified mediator and offers mediation services.
Collaborative Law
Collaborative Family Law offers an innovative, alternative approach to divorce litigation. House Bill 1363, passed by the Texas Legislature in 2001, incorporated the Collaborative Law Model into the Texas Family Code, and is becoming increasingly popular among those looking for a less destructive alternative to a litigated divorce. Collaborative Divorce offers an alternative process for this major life transition.
Fees
The parties agree at the outset how and from which source the legal fees and other expenses of the divorce will be paid. While fees for a collaborative divorce may be similar to those of a contested divorce (though, frequently the collaborative process is less expensive than going to trial), the money is spent crafting a creative, tailored agreement for the family, instead of being spent on burdensome discovery, interim hearings, and legal maneuvering.
The Process
If you and your spouse choose to pursue a Collaborative Law divorce, you will each have your own attorney. The parties and the attorneys commit to working towards an amicable settlement without going to Court. In the event the parties fail to settle their issues through the Collaborative Law process and mediation and insist on having the judge decide, the collaborative lawyers must withdraw, and new trial counsel must be retained by each party. This component encourages parties to remain in the process. Attorney Courtney Kaisand works hard to help parties decide if Collaborative Law is right for them prior to proceeding collaboratively.
The Collaborative Law process involves informal discussions and joint conferences for the purpose of settling all issues. Each party and his/her attorney agree to proceed with honesty and mutual respect. The parties negotiate the terms of their divorce in good faith, acknowledging the need to work together and compromise in order to settle the issues.
The parties also agree to make a full and complete disclosure to one another of all relevant information. Collaborative Law utilizes informal discovery, such as the voluntary exchange of financial information and relies on neutral experts such as tax advisors, financial planners, appraisers, and family counselors, as applicable to the specific case. The neutral financial professionals work with both parties to prepare a joint inventory of assets and liabilities obviating the need for the lawyers to duplicate efforts. The communications facilitator helps keep the meetings moving forward in a productive manner.
Parenting plans, which allocate parental responsibilities and time with the child(ren), are jointly worked out by the parents, with the goal of serving the best interests of the children and the family.
The Collaborative Divorce process typically entails a series of meetings lasting approximately two hours (known as “joint meetings”) that have a prepared agenda. In these meetings, the parties gather information, generate options, and work together toward a final resolution.
Participants in the Collaborative Family Law process only see the inside of a courtroom to formalize the final agreements reached by the parties. Control remains in the hands of the parties themselves and is never abdicated to a judge.