Texas Supreme Court: Mediation Critically Important to Protect Children
In the much awaited decision in the Texas child custody case of In re Stephanie Lee, the Texas Supreme Court steadfastly and emphatically supported the critical importance of mediation to protect children from the emotional and psychological damage of high conflict litigated custody battles. The Justices said Texas law gives a trial judge many opportunities in custody litigation to determine what is in the best interests of a child, but he or she does not have the power to refuse to accept parents' decisions about their child’s welfare when there was no family violence and the parents’ agreements were recorded in a valid, signed, mediated settlement agreement.
