Recently the Iowa Supreme Court approved on a trial basis a mediation program for probate matters in Polk County, Iowa. Under the program, the Polk County Probate Judge has the ability to refer matters to mediation at his discretion. Unlike arbitration, where the arbitrator makes a decision which is binding on the parties, a mediator works with the parties to help them reach a decision which is agreeable to the parties. The mediators for the program will be experienced probate attorneys who have gone through mediation training. Jim Beatty completed 24 hours of mediation training in April of this year, and are now registered as
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