CDA Negotiation & Mediation Skills 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A spouse refuses to disclose retirement account balances during mediation. What is the CDA's most appropriate step?
- Proceed without the information
- Recommend the couple abandon mediation
- Stress the importance of full financial disclosure and suggest a discovery process (Correct answer)
- Accept the spouse's verbal estimate
Correct answer: Stress the importance of full financial disclosure and suggest a discovery process
Full financial disclosure is essential for equitable settlements; a CDA should explain this requirement and guide parties toward proper discovery.
Question 2: Which conflict resolution approach yields partial satisfaction for both parties through mutual concessions?
- Avoiding
- Competing
- Compromising (Correct answer)
- Collaborating
Correct answer: Compromising
Compromising involves each party giving up something to reach a middle-ground agreement, unlike collaboration which seeks full mutual gain.
Question 3: 'Reframing' in mediation means:
- Changing the legal classification of marital property
- Restating a party's message in a more neutral or constructive way (Correct answer)
- Switching to a different mediator mid-session
- Reviewing the original divorce petition
Correct answer: Restating a party's message in a more neutral or constructive way
Reframing transforms negative or positional statements into neutral language focused on interests, reducing defensiveness.
Question 4: When parties are at an impasse over child custody schedules, the most effective mediator move is to:
- Declare a winner based on evidence
- Propose a single schedule and ask both parties to accept
- Break the issue into smaller sub-issues and address each separately (Correct answer)
- Terminate the mediation and refer to court
Correct answer: Break the issue into smaller sub-issues and address each separately
Breaking large impasses into smaller issues makes the problem more manageable and allows incremental progress toward agreement.
Question 5: Which type of mediation allows the mediator to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each party's legal position?
- Transformative
- Facilitative
- Evaluative (Correct answer)
- Narrative
Correct answer: Evaluative
Evaluative mediators provide opinions on likely court outcomes, helping parties assess their BATNA more realistically.
Question 6: A 'caucus' in mediation refers to:
- A joint session with both spouses present
- A private meeting between the mediator and one party (Correct answer)
- A meeting of financial experts to verify assets
- A court hearing to approve the settlement
Correct answer: A private meeting between the mediator and one party
A caucus is a confidential private session that allows the mediator to explore sensitive concerns a party may not raise in joint session.
Question 7: When one spouse earns significantly more income than the other, a CDA should be aware that this power imbalance may:
- Automatically disqualify the case from mediation
- Cause the lower-earning spouse to agree to unfavorable terms (Correct answer)
- Require a judge to set the final terms
- Have no impact on negotiation dynamics
Correct answer: Cause the lower-earning spouse to agree to unfavorable terms
Economic power imbalances can pressure a financially dependent spouse into accepting unfavorable settlements, which a CDA must actively manage.
CDA Negotiation & Mediation Skills 3
A spouse refuses to disclose retirement account balances during mediation.
What is the CDA's most appropriate step?