Couples who want their divorce to go as smoothly as possible, without it going through the courts and without personal information going public, often turn to mediation alongside their attorneys for their divorce.
Mediation is practical, less formal than a traditional divorce and certainly less adversarial. It aims to help the parties solve their problems without destroying their relationship, which is often overlooked in divorce.
Especially for couples with children, it is crucial to consider that you will remain part of each other’s lives because of your children. Mediation can help you set up a plan, establish your boundaries and take care of everything else, including child custody and finance issues.
What does a mediator do?
Mediators are often highly trained, impartial third parties who can facilitate conversations between parties, even if the topics are challenging to discuss. Mediators have tools and work with the parties’ attorneys to settle if they want to reach an agreement.
What is excellent about mediation is that it is voluntary and non-binding. You can reach an enforceable agreement if you want to and have a judge sign it, but nobody can force you to agree to anything. You can terminate the mediation process at any time, giving you more control over your side of the negotiation.
Privacy is always an essential element when it comes to divorce, and if this is especially important to you personally, mediation could be ideal for you. The process is entirely confidential, and no information discussed inside the mediation room ever leaves the room.
Divorce is a difficult time in anyone’s life, but it doesn’t have to mean the end of the relationship with your former spouse, and it does not have to be an adversarial, mean or cruel process. It is possible to divorce using a softer, more humane approach, and couples often find that in mediation.