Divorce Mediation

Divorce mediation is now well-known and widely accepted. Mediation means different things to different people. In our mediation practice, you and your spouse will sit down in the same room with each other and with your neutral mediator. With the mediator's help, you work through all the issues you need to resolve so the two of you can get through your divorce.

Mediation is flexible and confidential. It gives you and your spouse a way to settle the conflict. It allows each of you to work together as parents after your divorce. The mediator remains neutral between the husband and the wife. That means the mediator educates both of you on the law. In open sessions we educate both spouses on the things that each should be aware of, and about what each spouse is trying to accomplish. That open and free exchange of information frees up both spouses to negotiate with each other in confidence. Because both spouses are working with the same base of information, it usually takes far less time to negotiate a resolution that makes sense to both spouses.
Mediation is comprehensive resolution of all issues of divorce, including:

    * Assets and liabilities
    * Child custody and support
    * Parenting schedules
    * Medical insurance coverage
    * Property division
    * Tax consequences
    * Spousal support

Mediation is voluntary. It continues only for so long as you, your spouse, and the mediator -- want it to. Your mediator has to have a good reason to withdraw. You or your spouse can withdraw from mediation at any time, for a good reason, a bad reason, or no reason at all. There are no secrets in mediation. Because mediation is voluntary, you are welcome to, in fact encouraged to, have your own independent lawyer as an advisor between sessions; and to receive independent legal advice from your own attorney throughout the entire mediation process.

Positive Results

Mediation is successful! Years of research demonstrate that couples who have mediated their divorce are more likely to be satisfied with the process and the results, likely to take less time and spend less money, and are less likely to go back to court later to fight about something.

The main advantage of mediation is that it keeps you and your spouse in control of your own divorce. That can make all the difference in your recovering from your divorce and moving on with your life. Mediation allows the two of you to get through your divorce with less conflict than you would experience in an adversarial divorce. Because mediation is all about working with shared knowledge, mediation often translates to more money for you.

Please be sure to visit www.hardinglaw.com, the website for the law firm of Harding & Associates, for more information on California family law.

Comments

[divorce mediation mediation]

This is really great post about mediation. This is really cool.

[Vern]

The mediation approach is definitely the best legal option people have available if a divorce is unavoidable. Given the prerequisite civility needed for a mediation solution to work, all concrete issues can be worked out quicker, cheaper, and more comfortably than they would be handled by any other means of divorce. Truly the preferred option to go with, if at all possible.

[Mike Lopez]

Thank you for a great post about mediation. Not all divorces need to he handled in an adversarial or confrontational way, and your willingness to publicly state that mediation works is quite refreshing. Divorce is generally a sad experience and mediation can help make that experience as friendly as humanly possible.