Divorce Mediation is Best for Preserving Relationships
- Divorce mediation helps preserve a good relationship with your spouse and reduces the tension for the sake of your children.
- Typically, you will be more satisfied by having arrived at your own “solutions” to the problems as opposed to having a judge make the decisions.
- Your children will benefit from a collaborative approach.
Typically mediation is significantly less expensive than a litigated divorce. A typical mediated divorce costs about $5,000.
Divorce Mediation Will Most Likely be Less Costly and Less Time Consuming
- Typically mediation is significantly less expensive than a litigated divorce. A typical mediated divorce costs about $5,000.
- If the case goes to court, the cost may be three times as high — or more.
- Mediated divorce cases typically take considerably less time than a litigated divorce.
You Should Achieve Greater Overall Satisfaction from Divorce Mediation
- In mediation, the parties are assisted by a mediator to reach an agreement developed by the spouses themselves, not one imposed by a judge or the court system.
- Clients are given the control to determine the schedule and the issues to be discussed. By putting the control of setting the schedule in clients’ hands, divorce mediation is much faster than family litigation because the case doesn’t rely on the court’s schedule.
- Mediation is efficient. A settlement can be achieved more quickly when the approach shifts from polarizing debate to creative solution-seeking.
- Clients are given the flexibility to take the time needed to consider how a decision is reached in mediation. They can agree to “reality test” agreements to see how they work and make changes after seeing how these agreements work in practice. You make the decisions you’ll be living with — not a judge.
- Mediation allows the client to make choices. Settlements are not dictated in mediation. An agreement is reached only when the parties say “yes” to each other. Typically the parties are more satisfied by having arrived at their own “solutions” to the problems as opposed to having a judge make the decisions.
- Divorce mediation is confidential and private. Clients can discuss the important issues in the privacy and comfort of the mediator’s office, rather than a crowded courthouse hallway or less desirable location. A mediator’s files are confidential — court files are public records that anyone can view.
- Clients always have the choice to litigate if mediation is unsuccessful. It’s much more difficult to mediate after litigation has flared up emotional conflict and made it harder for spouses to communicate and trust each other.
Consider all of these factors when you’re deciding between litigation and mediation. Contact the caring and compassionate attorneys at Bohm Wildish & Matsen to help with any of your divorce concerns.