Whether you’re heading into divorce with a basic agreement or you and your spouse can’t agree about much, mediation can help. But there are a lot of rumors about mediation floating around that simply aren’t true, so we tackled the big ones:
- Mediation makes divorce take longer.
Nope. In almost all cases, mediation takes less time than navigating the court system. So unless you’re heading to court with a thorough and detailed divorce agreement that you and your spouse negotiated together, mediation is probably the fastest route. And a faster divorce can mean a less expensive divorce.
- Mediation disadvantages women.
False. One of the benefits of mediation is that its purpose is cooperation. A good mediator can balance the personalities of you and your spouse and keep conflict low, while moving towards a mutually beneficial settlement. If you don’t think that’s happening, you can walk away from any mediation that isn’t court ordered. And if you think the mediated agreement isn’t fair, you don’t have to sign it.
- Mediation isn’t for complex divorces.
Not true. Mediation can be good for almost any divorce. A mediator can deal with division of financial assets, child support and custody, a parenting plan, alimony and a whole host of other issues. Want to include a custody plan for your family pets? You can. Want to include other issues like religious upbringing, music lessons or technology use for kids? You can. Your mediated agreement can cover almost any issue you choose to include.
- You can’t use an attorney.
False. Mediation is all about coming to an agreement, but you can always consult an attorney before, during and after the process. Talking to an attorney prior to mediation can be a wonderful way to get advice about the process, documentation you will need and what kinds of agreements are possible. Finally, your attorney can review the mediation agreement and prepare the documents for an uncontested divorce to be filed with the court.
Whether you need assistance with a contested divorce, or want to pursue mediation for an uncontested divorce, we can help. Send us a message or call us at (314) 454-9100 to schedule a consultation.
