Divorce Mediation is an alternative to litigation and provides a way to avoid unpredictable and costly courtroom battles.

Mediation assists partners in negotiating a fair Marital Settlement Agreement in a private, caring and confidential setting, and avoids the hiring of adversarial lawyers.

I use a team approach. Working with a family law attorney (during all sessions), we offer the combined benefit of psychological and legal expertise. Together, we address the emotional, logistical, and financial problems related to dissolving your marriage. (Each session is usually two hours.)

In my experience, the options created in mediation save an enormous amount of money, time, and stress. Couples have the opportunity to maintain complete control over all decisions related to property and child custody issues, without stepping foot into a courtroom.

Mediation Steps

Mediation is a systematic process that works best in an atmosphere of trust and good faith. An agreement is usually reached when the parties can work past their strategic positions to identify the core issues of their conflict and come up with ways to resolve those issues. While each case will vary, the process typically involves the following steps.

• Contact Parties
• Set Ground Rules
• Collect / Analyze Information
• Build Trust
• Define Trust
• Set Agenda
• Identify Parties' Values / Interests
• Brainstorm Options
• Evaluate Options
• Negotiate

Here is what the studies have found:

Time and Money Saved
Mediating couples tend to resolve issues often within 5 hours of mediation, leading to time and money savings.

Easier to Reach Agreement
Research reflects that mediation produces agreement in 50 to 80 percent of cases,no matter how intense the marital conflict is. When both parties feel they have a chance to be heard and understood agreement can often be reached much quicker.

Greater Client Satisfaction
You can see how the experience of mediation lends itself to a feeling of having ones needs met and greater satisfaction. Clients felt much of the credit was due to the skills and professionalism of the mediator. They sited the creativity of the professional, their success at managing the emotions of the couple, their ability to remain neutral, the mediator’s ability to have each person feel heard and understood, and to help the couple come to fair agreements about their property settlement, child custody and parenting plans.

Women Feel More Satisfied with Mediation
Studies seem to report that women feel they are treated fairer in mediation then in the court process. It seems the personal attention and opportunity to be heard and understood leaves people feeling they have had ample time to get their needs met and walk away with a better feeling about a very difficult situation.

The Terms of the Agreements
Mediation agreements tend to be more comprehensive than settlements reached either voluntarily or involuntarily in adversarial court. When there is a better feeling about the process there is more likely hood of compromise and agreement. It seems in this less stressful setting with the help of a non-partial mediator there is a willingness to give and offer extra's to the partner.

Benefits to Mental Health
When couples are reporting more satisfaction with the mediation process I think they walk away with a better feeling about themselves and their ex-partner. Family Therapists-Mediators are able to offer insight into the struggles of the couple that often diffuse many of the arguments and resentments. Research reports that with mediation you will see an increase of parental responsibility and activity that often doesn't happen with litigation. You have a happier family with mediation then you might with litigation, which leads to less fighting after the divorce or problems with shared child custody.

More Cooperation and less litigation
Researchers generally report higher rates of compliance with mediated agreements and less after the fact fighting and litigation. Research supports greater ease with parenting schedules, division of property and payment of child or spousal support. One reason for this may be the feeling of control couples report feeling when they go through the mediation process. They feel more like they are choosing rather then being told or having to accept what is handed them.

Confidentiality of Mediation
Matters are discussed in the privacy of the mediators office and not in open court. The situation is less stressful and more informal then litigation.