Marriage doesn’t always work out, and there’s certainly no reason to beat yourself up if you end up filing for divorce. The really hard part though is when children are involved. Far too often they blame themselves for causing a rift between their parents, or on the opposite end of the scale feel that their parents hate them. Generally, neither scenario is true, although there can be many negative feelings that affect everybody concerned.
While there’s no escaping your moment in court to get a divorce, there are ways to lessen the pain for all parties. Provided both parties are prepared to co-operate, divorce mediation is a really good option. Instead of fighting issues out in court using traditional litigation processes, they get together with mediation attorneys and sort things out in a rational way. You don’t need to like your partner for divorce mediation to work. What you need is a knowledgeable mediation attorney who can facilitate the process, encourage communication, and promote understanding between the two parties.
The goal is to reach a divorce settlement agreement out of court.
About Divorce Mediation and Divorce Settlements
Divorce mediation not only avoids the unnecessary expense of litigation, it also avoids the inevitable trauma of litigation and minimizes the typical hostility that goes with it. Instead, it enables couples to come to an equitable, mutually acceptable agreement that is also legally sound.
Because it is less traumatic, there is usually less negative impact on the children. Going to trial is intensely stressful for most people, and even though they aren’t expected to appear in court, this stress will rub off on the children.
Another issue when minor children are involved is that there will inevitably be some type of relationship that will continue between the parents, at least until the children leave school or college. Having a neutral mediator work through problems is in the interests of long-term relationships, and undoubtedly works in favor of the children.
Of course, the over-riding reason for divorce is the breakdown of the relationship, for whatever reason. This usually goes hand-in-hand with all manner of disputes, from money matters to child custody. Whether agreed to voluntarily by both parties, or instructed by the court, divorce mediation is recognized as an excellent way of dealing with disputes out of court. Although similar to other out-of-court settlements, divorce settlements agreed to during mediation must be ratified by the court. This means that if one or other party does no comply with the agreement, the other has recourse back to court.
If you are planning a divorce and are keen to work with a divorce mediator, contact the divorce mediation and family law specialists at Hastings ShadmehryFamily & Collaborative Law today.
