Not every legal problem needs another adversary.

 

 

Some families need an advocate.

Others need a neutral professional who can help them move through conflict, organize difficult decisions, and create a workable path forward.

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Mouw Law provides neutral services for families, attorneys, and courts throughout South Dakota.

 

Depending on the matter and role, neutral services may include facilitated resolution, parenting coordination, custody evaluation, or Guardian ad Litem services.

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The role of a neutral is fundamentally different from the role of an attorney representing a client. When I serve as a neutral, I do not represent either participant and do not advocate for one person's preferred outcome over another's.

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The duties, authority, confidentiality, and scope of each neutral role are different and will be explained before services begin.

 

Mouw Method Resolution:

A structured way to separate without making everything a fight.

 

The Mouw Method is Mouw Law's neutral resolution process for people who want help working through the legal and practical decisions involved in separation, divorce, parenting, or other family transitions without immediately turning those disagreements into litigation.

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Instead of representing one participant against the other, I serve as a neutral facilitator.

Together, we identify what needs to be resolved, organize the information necessary to make those decisions, work through areas of agreement and disagreement, and develop clear terms the participants can use to move forward.

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Depending on the matter, the process may include:

• identifying the legal and practical issues that need resolution;

• structured joint meetings;

• gathering and organizing relevant financial or parenting information;

• developing parenting schedules and decision-making provisions;

• identifying and valuing property and debt issues;

• discussing possible approaches to disputed issues;

• reality-testing proposed solutions;

• memorializing agreements reached by the participants; and

• preparing agreed documents where appropriate.

 

You Still Make the Decisions

 

The Mouw Method is not about having a neutral decide who is right.

 

The participants remain the decision-makers.

 

My role is to provide structure to the process, identify issues that may need attention, facilitate productive discussion, and help turn agreements into clear and workable terms.

 

I do not make decisions for either participant and do not represent either participant individually.

 

Independent Legal Advice Is Still Available

 

Neutral does not mean that participants give up the ability to have their own lawyer.

 

Either participant may consult independent counsel at any point in the process, including before agreeing to proposed terms or signing final documents.

 

In some circumstances, I may recommend that one or both participants obtain independent legal advice before proceeding with a particular agreement.

 

The goal is not to prevent people from having lawyers.

 

The goal is to use lawyers where they are actually helpful without requiring every decision to become adversarial litigation.

 

What If We Cannot Agree?

 

You do not have to agree on everything before beginning the Mouw Method.

Part of the purpose of the process is to identify where agreement already exists, narrow the issues that remain disputed, and determine whether workable solutions can be developed.

 

But resolution is voluntary.

 

If the participants cannot reach agreement, either may pursue other available legal processes.

 

Because I served as a neutral, Mouw Law does not switch sides and become litigation counsel for either participant in the same matter.

 

Mouw Method Pricing

 

Mouw Method Resolution is generally offered as a shared flat-fee process, with each participant responsible for an identified portion of the cost.

Typical investment: $1,000–$2,000 per participant, depending on the complexity of the matter and the services included.

 

Before beginning, participants receive a written agreement identifying the scope of the neutral process, the anticipated services, the fee, and how additional services will be handled if the matter requires more work than originally anticipated.

 

Parenting Coordination

Helping high-conflict parenting orders function in real life.

 

Parenting coordination is a structured process designed to help parents implement parenting orders, manage recurring disputes, improve communication, and reduce unnecessary returns to court.

 

The parenting coordinator's authority depends on the applicable agreement or court order.

 

Depending on that authority, parenting coordination may involve:

• helping parents interpret and implement existing parenting provisions;

• facilitating communication concerning the children;

• addressing recurring scheduling or logistical disputes;

• helping parents develop practical solutions;

• documenting agreements or recommendations as appropriate; and

• assisting the family in reducing repetitive conflict.

 

A Parenting Coordinator is not either parent's attorney.

 

The specific role, authority, communication rules, confidentiality limitations, fees, and procedures applicable to a parenting-coordination matter are established before services begin and, when applicable, by court order.

 

Custody Evaluation

Independent assessment when the court needs more information.

 

In appropriate cases, I may serve as a neutral custody evaluator when retained or appointed to assess issues relevant to a child's best interests.

 

Custody evaluation is not mediation, parenting coordination, or legal representation.

An evaluator gathers and assesses information within the scope of the appointment and provides professional findings, opinions, or recommendations as authorized by the applicable order and governing standards.

 

The evaluation process may involve interviews, document review, collateral information, observations, records, and other appropriate sources of information.

Because the evaluator's role is independent, neither parent is the evaluator's client.

 

The precise scope, process, fees, access to information, and reporting obligations are established in the custody-evaluation agreement and any applicable court order.

 

Guardian ad Litem Services

An independent role focused on the interests assigned by the court.

 

I also accept select Guardian ad Litem appointments.

A Guardian ad Litem serves in the role established by the court and applicable law. The GAL does not function as private counsel for either parent and does not take direction from either party.

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The scope of the GAL's investigation, participation, reporting, recommendations, communication, and fees depends on the type of proceeding and the appointing order.

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Parties should carefully review the appointment order and GAL agreement so they understand the GAL's role before the work begins.

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Choosing the Right Process

These services are related, but they are not interchangeable.

 

We want to make our own decisions and need help reaching an agreement.
→ Mouw Method Resolution

We already have parenting orders but repeatedly struggle to implement them or resolve parenting disputes.
→ Parenting Coordination

The court needs an independent professional assessment concerning custody and the children's best interests.
→ Custody Evaluation

The court has appointed an independent professional to perform a defined role on behalf of a child or other protected interest.
→ Guardian ad Litem

I need someone to represent me and protect my individual legal interests.
→ Attorney Representation

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Neutrality Matters

 

When Mouw Law accepts a neutral role, that role comes first.

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I do not secretly become one participant's lawyer. I do not use neutrality as a pathway to later represent one participant against the other in the same dispute. And I do not treat a neutral process as simply another form of litigation.

 

The purpose is different:

to bring structure to conflict, improve the quality of decision-making, and help families and courts move difficult matters forward.

 

Interested in Neutral Services?

Neutral services may be initiated by the participants, their attorneys, or through court appointment depending on the service involved.

 

Contact Mouw Law to discuss availability, conflicts, the appropriate neutral process, and next steps.

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