Mediation is recognized as one of the most effective processes to help family members craft agreements to resolve conflicts in a respectful and productive way. An agreement reached in mediation reflects the precise decisions that a particular family has made, and is tailored to the needs and goals of that family. Mediation promotes a deep level of understanding and decision-making, and the decisions made in mediation are the result of hard work by both partners. Because mediation is a non-adversarial model, spouses are able to get to the heart of the issues quickly and efficiently, without the threat of court intervention looming over them and affecting the quality of the decisions they make. In mediation spouses are able to negotiate directly with one another rather than through attorneys, and are thus able control the timing, cost and outcome of their divorce.