Yes. Not only are they less expensive, but except for arbitration, the parties remain in control of the decision. In a trial and arbitration, the decision is turned over completely to a third party who may or may not have adequate information or wisdom to make the wisest decision. Parties nearly always have more satisfaction if they remain in control of the solution to the dispute.

Mediation is the process in which a neutral third party assists the conflicting parties to come to an agreement between them. Mediation is an art and a skill which must learned and practiced. Mediators are becoming more and more professional. Ask a mediator about their qualifications to mediate your particular dispute before engaging them.

In general, alternative dispute resolution is any method of resolving a dispute that short of a full-blown trial. The methods include NEGOTIATIONS, MEDIATION, SETTLEMENT CONFERENCES, ARBITRATION and MEDIATION/ARBITRATION

Well the AMA (American Medical Association) does for starters. Heres a quick Quote for you.

Best Interest of the Child Standard
The research that included child adjustment criteria concerning the study of joint custody will be used relevant to this issue. The two studies with the best methodology (Buchanan, Maccoby, & Dombush, 199 1; Burnett, 199 1) indicated that joint custody versus sole maternal custody was associated with adolescents’ positive adjustment. This finding was replicated for children by Abarbanel(l979). Greif (1979), and Luepnitz (1986) but not Johnston, Kline & Tschann (1989) and Kline, Tschann, Johnston & Wallerstein (1989). It is concluded that the present research supports joint custody for facilitating children’s adjustment.

Simply put yes there are many resources out ther for parents in you situation. The Family Rights Coalition being only a small part of the larger whole in this area. If you check our links area under shared parenting you will find many useful links.