When a Broward County mediation session ends without a full agreement, the mediator files a certificate of non-agreement with the court, and the case proceeds toward a contested hearing. The court then sets deadlines for pre-trial filings, which typically include a pretrial stipulation identifying the remaining contested issues along with witness and exhibit lists. Both parties must be prepared to present their evidence and arguments on every unresolved issue, whether that involves property division, alimony, or contested parenting decisions. The timeline from a failed mediation to a final hearing varies, but contested trials in Broward County can take months to schedule.
A failed mediation is not a failure of the divorce process. Many cases that do not settle at mediation eventually settle before the trial date, once both parties have seen the full scope of what litigation will cost and what arguments the other side is prepared to make. A Hollywood divorce mediation attorney who also handles contested hearings gives clients continuity of representation through this transition, and the preparation done for mediation carries forward into the litigation phase without having to start over.
