Divorce mediation is an often misunderstood process, and not a one-size-fits all solution for all divorces. While it can result in very satisfying outcomes for all parties, and preserve important assets and relationships, understanding the strings of divorce mediation can help you decide if it is the right fit for your situation.
Divorce mediation aims to help those engaged in the divorce process spend as little of their time and resources in the courtroom as possible. If you are going through a divorce and have been able to come to reasonable agreements with your soon-to-be-former spouse about things like asset and liability division and custody arrangements, then you may not need divorce mediation. In this scenario, an experienced divorce attorney can walk them through the divorce process and ensure there are no legal hangups. While there can be some surprises in divorce proceedings, a competent attorney can help sidestep those and wrap up the divorce efficiently.
However, if you and your spouse are not finding it possible to come to fair arrangements about these kinds of divisions, you may be an excellent candidate for divorce mediation. With divorce mediation, the counsel can help you come to fair, equitable agreements while keeping the official involvement of the legal system in those decisions to a bare minimum.
Perhaps you have heard horror stories of friends whose spouses dragged them through court for months or years on end, draining the very resources they were theoretically arguing over, only to leave them exhausted and with many fewer assets with which to build a new life. These kinds of pyrrhic victories are exactly what divorce mediation can help avoid, instead offering the opportunity for both parties to negotiate as their best selves, not the unsavory sides of themselves that divorce can often bring out. If you believe that divorce mediation may be right for you, a qualified lawyer can help you begin walking through this process.
Source: The Huffington Post, “What Most People Don’t Know About Divorce Mediation,” J. Richard Kulerski and Cari Cornelison, accessed Sep. 21, 2016
