What is Divorce Mediation?

Mediation is cheaper, less stressful and less expensive than litigation. If you are going to get divorced, you might consider mediation as a kinder, gentler approach to resolving your issues including custody, property, and spousal maintenance. So call us today and ask for Stephen. He will answer your questions and help you schedule a time to get started. So, put on your blue jeans, come to our office, we’ll make you a cup of coffee and help you move forward.

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The 3 Step Mediation Process

Step 1

You and your spouse meet with our mediator.

Step 2

We draft your agreements and file them with the Court.

Step 3

The judge signs your paperwork and you're divorced.

HOW MEDIATION WORKS

During mediation, you and your spouse meet with an experienced family law mediator to resolve your issues. Mediation is conducted in a relaxed, comfortable office atmosphere with the mediator and the parties.

Often during high conflict cases, the involved parties are in separate rooms and the mediator literally walks back and forth between the conference rooms negotiating until agreements can be made.

The Mediator’s Job

Mediation leaves the decision power strictly with the parties. The mediator does not decide what is fair or who is right or wrong. The mediator’s goal is to act as a channel between opposing sides attempting to bring them together by defining issues and creating solutions. The mediator will, however, seek concessions from each side during the mediation process. This helps move the mediation process along.

Participant’s Job

When both parties come to mediation voluntarily, we expect that both parties act in good faith and have a desire to find a resolution. We encourage participants to listen calmly to the other party, even if you disagree with their statements. We have found that it is also helpful for both parties to share an active role in the decision-making process. Finally, full disclosure of all debts and assets and information required in Rule 49 are necessary.

Mediation Costs

On average, mediation can cost approximately less than 70-80% of total litigation costs. At Best Mediation Services, parties can pay by the hour in a step-by-step process. The cost of mediation depends on how agreeable the parties are and on how complex the issues are.

Hypothetical Mediation cases

David and Christina

Divorce or Dissolution

Hypothetically, let’s discuss the situation with David and Christina, who have been married for 12 years and have two children, DJ, age 10, and Eliza, age 6. David has been employed as a computer technician for most of the marriage and Christina is a teacher who has her summers off.

Read Case

Divorce or Dissolution Hypothetical: David and Christina

Hypothetically, let’s discuss the situation with David and Christina, who have been married for 12 years and have two children, DJ, age 10, and Eliza, age 6. David has been employed as a computer technician for most of the marriage and Christina is a teacher who has her summers off. They bought a house eight years ago and the mortgage is $1,200 per month. David moved into a small apartment three months ago. Christina also inherited $18,000 from her uncle Huck three years ago that she used to buy her car, a Volvo SUV. David has a vehicle with a loan, Christina has a retirement plan with the state of Arizona and David has almost no retirement, because they had a medical emergency three years ago for DJ’s fractured leg, suffered in a ski accident. They also incurred an additional $8,000 in MasterCard debt when Christina took time off to care for DJ.

Both David and Christina have their differences and they have both decided that they need to get divorced. They are able to talk together, but they just do not agree on what they should do about decision-making, child support, the house and their debt. They are not even sure what decision-making is all about. What happens with the pension? How do they get it divided? Who pays child support and how do they pay it? Who pays for Eliza’s piano lessons and summer soccer camp for both kids? Who has to pay back the MasterCard debt? Can David expect Christina to help pay rent for his apartment?

Because David and Christina have decided that they cannot each afford to pay for an attorney and they cannot afford to litigate and argue about the decisions that they have to make, they have set up a meeting at Best Law Firm. The attorney meets with David and Christina together, and they sign the mediation agreement and pay the mediation fee. After that, the real work begins. They all work together, outlining parenting and financial issues. The mediator will provide the parties with pertinent legal statutes that may apply to their issues. Remember that anything the parties say in mediation cannot be used against them in court; it is a confidential process. It is decided at the first meeting that both David and Christina need to get copies of various documents: the retirement plan, pay stubs, tax returns, credit card statements and so on. All financial documents must be disclosed, so that each party is aware of the assets and liabilities of the party under Family Law Rule 49.

At the second meeting, the parties and the mediator are able to resolve all the issues. The mediator drafts a Rule 69 agreement and the parties sign it and leave the office. The mediator then uses that agreement to draft the pertinent legal documents. For David and Christina, that includes a Joint Parenting Agreement, a Property Settlement Agreement and a Decree. David and Christina had decided to make all of these decisions before actually filing for divorce. Once the court receives the initial filings, it will be a minimum of 60 days before a judge will sign any final decree or other documents. The parties must also attend a mandatory parenting class and file the certificate with the court before their decree will be approved.

Bob and Betty

Mediation

Bob and Betty want to live apart and split their finances. Their children are gorown and they no longer want to be married. Bob and Betty fill out some paperwork and meet with Cindy who has thirty years of family law and divorce experience.