If you decide to divorce, it’s easy to believe that you’ll eventually face off against the other individual in a traditional courtroom setting.
While this could happen, you shouldn’t overlook the potential benefits of mediation. These include but are not limited to:
- More control over the process
- Ability to reach a resolution in a more time efficient manner
- Cost savings when compared to litigation
How does it work?
Generally speaking, divorce mediation is all about the couple and the mediator meeting as many times as necessary to work through all the issues at hand.
- First meeting. This is an exploratory meeting in which both individuals have the opportunity to share what needs to be discussed. Also, you’ll get a better idea of the type of information you need to gather for future meetings.
- Follow-up meetings. If you’re lucky, you’ll be able to work through all your differences in one follow-up meeting. However, you should not expect this to happen. Generally speaking, it takes three to four two hour long sessions to reach a final resolution. These meetings are typically spread over the course of one to two months.
Then what happens?
Once you work through everything in mediation, you have the opportunity to review the final documents with your legal team.
From there, as long as everything checks out, your mediator can file the paperwork with the appropriate court.
Even better, you are not required to spend any time in court.
Is my case too complicated?
Many divorcing couples assume that mediation will never work due to the complexities of their divorce.
For example, it’s easy to believe that a high asset divorce is too complicated to work out in mediation.
While you may end up in court, remember this: There is no such thing as a case that is too complicated for divorce mediation. As long as both individuals are willing to negotiate and compromise, it’s possible to reach a mutually agreed upon resolution.
As you first explore divorce mediation, you may have reason to believe it won’t work for you. However, as you learn more and compare it to litigation, you will come to find that the benefits far outweigh any potential drawbacks.
When you go into divorce mediation with an open mind and knowledge of your legal rights, you’re putting yourself in position for success.