Family and Divorce Mediation

Lawyers are mediating disputes and providing legal advice.

What is Divorce Mediation?

Divorce mediation is a voluntary process in which you and your spouse meet with a neutral facilitator who assists you in resolving the issues related to your divorce by mutual agreement, including parenting plans, dividing your assets, and providing for ongoing support of your children and each other. Mediation offers couples the opportunity to make their own decisions about their families’ future, rather than outsourcing those decisions to a judge. It also allows couples to conclude their divorce quickly and inexpensively compared to a traditional adversarial process.

What is the Mediator’s Role?

In mediation, you and your spouse make decisions together based on your own sense of fairness and the unique needs of your family. As mediators, our role is to neutrally guide you through the process. That includes:

Explaining the decisions that need to be made so that you and your spouse have a clear understanding of what you need to resolve.
Ensuring that you and your spouse have all of the information you need to make informed choices about your future.
Explaining the law in a clear and neutral way.
Suggesting solutions that would work for your family based on our years of experience working with individuals and families in transition.
Drafting a legally binding contract to reflect what you have agreed on and filing all necessary documents in court to finalize your divorce.

Do Attorneys Have a Role in Mediation?

Although most mediations take place without attorneys in the room, we strongly encourage our mediation clients to engage a consulting attorney. A good consulting attorney supports the client in his or her chosen process by advising the client as they prepare for mediation sessions, helping to evaluate settlement options and, ultimately, reviewing a draft of the contract on behalf of the client. As the mediation progresses, consulting attorneys are available to attend mediation sessions if the couple or the mediator thinks it would be helpful.

If you are in divorce mediation and you need a consulting attorney, we can help.

Is Mediation Right for Me?

Mediation can work for all different types of couples. However, there are some characteristics that are shared by most couples who choose mediation:

They feel comfortable speaking up and expressing their needs in front of each other.
They are willing to work collaboratively with each other to find solutions that meet the needs of the whole family.
They are willing to be transparent and share all relevant information with each other in the process.
They want to keep the details of their divorce private, and retain control over decision-making, rather than ceding that control to a judge.
They are looking for a faster and less expensive way to divorce than the court system can provide.