Providing Divorce Mediation Services Throughout California
Providing Divorce Mediation Services Throughout California
Going through the divorce process in (San Jose) California doesn’t have to mean a costly and lengthy court fight. Our professional online mediation services provide an effective and empowering solution, allowing you and your spouse to settle and agree upon important issues in a mutually fair way.
Whether it’s child custody or property division, our family law, expert mediators provide quality assistance and expertise, to help parties reach a high quality agreement while letting them take control of their divorce and saving money and time.
Our hope is that we can provide you with a forum so you are set up for the current situation and able to resolve conflicts in the future. At Families First Mediation, we can help you with:
Divorce mediation provides a better option for resolution by offering more control, confidentiality, and affordability than the public and adversarial aspects of litigation, the rigid attorney fees of collaborative divorce, or the decision of an arbitrator.
The average litigated divorce and collaborative divorce in California can often exceed $30,000 per spouse while Mediation saves each couple 50% of the total cost compared to other options.
Litigation can take over a year (or longer) due to busy court calendars and delays. With mediation, we usually reach full settlement in under 6 months.
In litigation a judge makes the decision for you but mediation empowers you and your spouse to make all the final decisions.
Each mediated session is a private conversation. This is the extreme opposite of divorce litigation. Court hearings are open to the public and transcripts can be readily available.
Mediation is a completely cooperative process as it reduces conflict and creates a less adversarial environment for all than the win-lose proceeding of litigation and arbitration.
Since you both are actively shaping the agreement, you are more likely to appreciate and follow it, increasing long-term compliance and a more predictable co-parenting post-divorce relationship.
Our process aims to minimize conflict and ambiguity but efficiently transition you from your first meeting to a divorce finalized by the court. Our divorce mediation process involves:
You start by booking a free consultation. This is a no-obligation meeting, allowing you to understand mediation and get answers to your questions.
If you decide to move forward, we will assist you with gathering and organizing your financial and personal documents. We want to ensure that you make every decision with a thorough understanding.
In this phase, we will work to identify all of the issues that need resolution, e.g., parenting plans, property division, etc.) and create an agreement about an agenda.
It’s a facilitated discussion with complete control over all final decisions. It’s where
where you and your spouse can identify and explore options to work toward solutions.
When everyone agrees, we write an MSA and share it with you for review and signature. We, then, prepare and file all documents with California court to have your agreement approved and divorce is actually finalized.
Selecting the right process for divorce is arguably the most important decision you will make, as it impacts your finances, family, and future. This comparison demonstrates why mediation is the ideal process for the majority of couples seeking a process that allows for a respectful and efficient resolution.
Disclaimer: This chart provides a general comparison. The actual costs and timeframes relevant to your case will differ. You should always seek independent legal advice from an attorney.
In California, we empower families and divorcing couples to take control of their divorce and reach quality agreements without spending hundreds of dollars. We’re a dedicated team of four professionals with over 60 years of combined experience in family law. Our collaborative group includes skilled attorney mediators, a case manager, and a divorce paralegal. We also work directly with financial experts and forensic accountants.
Principal & Founder Attorney-Mediator
Dina Haddad is the founder and principal of Families First Mediation, one of California’s top-rated mediation services.
As an attorney-mediator based in California, Dina has helped countless couples resolve issues related to divorce, legal separation, child custody, spousal support, and prenuptial and postnuptial agreements—amicably and effectively.
She earned her post-doctorate law degree in mediation from the renowned Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution.
Dina has practiced family law at some of the most respected firms in both Southern and Northern California. She brings a strong legal background together with a thoughtful, educational approach to mediation—ensuring both parties feel informed, heard, and empowered to reach lasting agreements.
She has served as Judge Pro Tempore for Personal Property Arbitration in Santa Clara County and is a family law mediator with the Agency for Dispute Resolution (ADR), a premier provider of private dispute resolution services.
On average, divorce mediation in California costs around $5,000 to $15,000. This is significantly less than the cost of a litigated divorce; often exceeding $30,000 per spouse.
Most couples finish mediation within a few months in 6 to 8 sessions. This is much quicker than litigation which because of heavily congested court calendars can exceed a year.
A neutral mediator will help by facilitating discussions. You and your spouse will be talking about possible agreements regarding all issues in your divorce. You both retain control of the final decisions related to custody, support and property division.
Mediation can only succeed if both parties want it to, it is for people who can compromise in order to reach an agreement, and is not suitable for those parties who have past domestic violence situations or huge power imbalance.
Once you have a signed agreement, California family law requires you wait 6 months before the court will finalize your divorce. This waiting period is mandated by California law starting from the very date you file.
Couples pursue mediation because it is less expensive, it is confidential, and it tends to have less emotional pain. It is also a process that allows you and your spouse to jointly maintain control over the outcome together, so you can both create a healthy foundation for co-parenting in the future.
Your divorce is not final at the conclusion of mediation. You still must file the signed agreement, Marital Settlement Agreement, with the court and a judge must approve the final divorce for it to be final.
You should not mediate when there is a history of domestic violence, substance abuse, or in cases of either spouse being dishonest. All of these issues can contribute to an unsafe and/or unfair negotiating environment.
You should prepare for mediation by gathering all possible financial documents (tax returns, bank statements, property deeds) and making a list for yourself of what you want and are concerned about, in regards to parenting and assets.
You will know your divorce is final when you receive a formal document from the court, called a “Notice of Entry of Judgment”. This ends your marriage with a legal date.
Divorce mediation has a very high success rate. About 80-85% of cases result in a full agreement being reached. As stated before this is due to the process involving cooperation and problem-solving of the common goals
Mediation is confidential by law. No information discussed at your mediation sessions can be revealed in court, allowing the parties to speak freely and openly with one another. However, any documents that could be retrieved from a third party (e.g. a financial institution) would not be protected by the mediation privilege.
In most cases, mediation is a better process than going to court: mediation is more likely to be faster, less expensive, and less adversarial. You will be able to develop solutions and outcomes that fit your situation, as opposed to a judge making a decision for you.
Divorce mediation is a voluntary process in which a neutral third-party helps you negotiate a settlement agreement to resolve your divorce. The mediator is there to help facilitate a conversation, not to direct your behavior or make decisions for you.
We provide our couples with useful resources (like divorce consult checklist, divorce mediation checklist and divorce mediation preparation).
You will want to take time to organize your financial documents and compile a list of assets, debts, and monthly expenses. You should also be prepared to discuss and consider what your priorities are regarding custody and visitation for your children.
The agreement you create in mediation is not legally binding at the time that you create it. The agreement becomes a binding contract once it is formalized into a judgment and signed by a court judge. This is usually part of the mediation process, and is a part of the Families First Mediation services.
If an agreement is not fully reached, you still have options – including going to court. If some issues are settled in mediation, you are still able to rely on that settlement in your litigation.
Mediation is a private, collaborative process, where you will ultimately control the agreement you reach. Court is a public adversarial process, and the judge will impose a legally binding decision on the parties involved.
Mediation is a private, collaborative process, where you will ultimately control the agreement you reach. Court is a public adversarial process, and the judge will impose a legally binding decision on the parties involved.
Yes, you can have a consulting attorney review your agreement or provide you advice between sessions. However, lawyers are not generally at the mediation session.
Some mediators will invite the consulting attorneys to a session when the parties are locked. Other times, mediators will work with attorneys and their clients in a settlement conference to resolve an outstanding issue.
The child’s best interests are paramount when developing a parenting plan. You will work together to effectively create a plan or a detailed custody and visitation schedule that supports their stability.
At the conclusion of mediation, the mediator will create a formal Marital Settlement Agreement. It will then be filed with the court to obtain approval to close out your divorce judgment.
You and your spouse will negotiate a fair division of all community property and debts under the applicable laws in California. The mediator will assist with this financial conversation.
You will calculate child support according to the state’s guidelines and you will discuss spousal support based on your financial situation as well. The mediator makes sure that these discussions are sufficiently informed and fair.
