When involved in a dissolution of marriage, legal separation or other dispute, parties have several options to resolve the issues:

Litigation: 
Litigation is the traditional model for resolving disputes between parties which proceeds through the court system. In the event the action before the court is a dissolution of marriage (divorce) or a legal separation, the parties may or may not have attorneys and work through the court's system by participating status conferences or hearings until either the matter is either settled or tried to the court. Courts frequently require parties to seek alternative dispute resolution processes.

Mediation:
Mediation is the process of facilitated communication between opposing parties by an impartial third party, known as the mediator. The objective of the mediator is to assist the parties in reaching a mutually acceptable agreement to end the litigation. Mediators typically use two core techniques to assist the parties. One technique is reality testing, which serves to challenge the party's current perspective on the case. The second technique is probing for underlying interests, which serves to open up a range of creative solutions to resolve the case. Mediation can be attended with or without your attorney. A mediator is a neutral and does not advocate for either party..

Collaborative Law:

The collaborative process is designed to support an environment/forum in which the focus is on the parties' needs and settlements that meet those needs. It's a team approach to divorce, handled out of court.Collaborative Law is a process in which the parties, along with their collaboratively trained attorneys and other professionals as requested (neutral financial team member, communication coach or child specialist), develop a workable settlement plan that addresses the interests of everyone involved.