If you have trouble communicating your needs with your soon-to-be ex-spouse, mediation is a tool that can help you out.
Since their job is to help you come up with decisions and get to a resolution that satisfies both parties during disputes, only a few cases do not recommend mediation.
Skip adversarial court battles and expensive attorneys by mediating your divorce with Families First Mediation. Create a personalized and quality agreement with Dina Haddad.
Schedule your free video consultation today.
To put it simply, divorce mediation is a way for parties to have another person in the room to help things stay calm. Mediators also give advice to their clients on how to move forward rather than backward when they don’t agree on topics like dividing assets or child/spousal support.
It goes like this:
Mediation in California should be a smooth and straightforward process. The mediator will try to help you find a middle ground with your partner.
They may ask questions about your case and try to understand the specifics so that everything can be divided equally.
If you need help finding a qualified mediator, contact Dina Haddad today. She provides a free consultation so you can learn about the divorce mediation process and how it can be beneficial to you.
There are a ton of benefits to attending mediation, especially in California.
In any divorce, you are going to run into disputes. After all, there’s no way you can go in, say what you want to happen, and have your partner go along with everything.
So, to keep things going quickly, you should review your resolution options: DIY divorce, mediation, collaborative practice and litigation.
What It Is: It is a straightforward process where a mediator assists you with reaching equitable agreements outside the family court without involving expensive attorneys.
You, the mediator, and your partner have sit-down sessions. In these sessions, you can work on creative agreements that you and your spouse agree to follow.
Best For: Mediation is typically less expensive than collaborative practice and a litigated divorce.
Limitations: The difficulty may be having your partner’s cooperation. Your partner can refuse to mediate. They can also choose not to cooperate in the sessions when attending.
What It Is: In DIY divorce, you do not need a divorce attorney or divorce paralegal to do your divorce. You can be self-represented. This saves you a lot of money.
Best For: A DIY divorce is great for those with simple cases, short-term marriages, or those who do not have money to spend on attorney’s and lawyer’s fees.
Limitation: Lacking legal knowledge and Filling legal forms incorrectly can lead to potential delays and issues in your case. Hence, you need to make sure what solution your DIY service providers have for this.
DIY divorce with TCD always goes smoothly because couples get assistance from TCD divorce experts, from filling out forms to reviewing and filing.
Related: Check out our “DIY Divorce California Complete Guide.”
What It Is: In collaborative divorce the couple works together with their lawyers to work out the terms of their divorce.
Best For: This option is for people on okay terms and agree to settle disagreements outside of court.
Limitations: Collaborative divorce can be more expensive than mediation and cost as much as a litigated divorce.
What It Is: A process where a judge makes the decisions about the divorce.
Best For: Divorce litigation is the best option to consider for your divorce when your case involves domestic violence and abuse.
Limitation: Litigation is very costly and takes a long time.
What It Is: In arbitration, an arbitrator gathers evidence from the two of you and, based on that, makes a ruling on who ‘wins’ or ‘loses’.
Best For: Best if you want a final (and binding) decision when finalizing your divorce.
Limitation: Similar to litigation, using arbitration takes your divorce out of your hands.
Mediation is California’s simplest, fastest, and most affordable divorcing option. Want to mediate your case with California’s best service? Look no further.
Families First Mediation is the people’s top choice when it comes to divorce. Book your free consultation now.
Divorce mediation can be a fantastic way to create grounds for an amicable divorce. However, it is still vital to recognize when you are in a situation where mediation might not be the best route.
Take these scenarios as an example to help you determine if other options would be more appropriate.
According to a piece done by ADR Times; “in simple terms, a power imbalance results when the parties don’t share the decision-making and other aspects of the relationship equally.
One party is often in control, and the other is being controlled.” This can quickly turn toxic in mediation since your partner (if you are on the receiving end of the imbalance) is used to calling the shots.
They can attempt to bulldoze over not just you, but also the mediator.
Negotiations in these kinds of circumstances very rarely ever go well because of the fear and intimidation that grow from the trauma of abuse.
There can be safety concerns when putting you and your spouse together in one room.
The receiver of abuse might be coerced into compromising since in most situations – even the presence of their abuser can send them into fight or flight (whether they know it or not).
Mediation might not be best when your spouse is going through other legal battles, such as a criminal matter.
It can cause a lack of transparency, resulting in suspicion that your spouse (or yourself) isn’t being entirely honest about their assets.
When it comes to divorce, honesty is the best policy since not telling the truth results in potential court sanctions and fees.
Unfortunately, your partner can not be forced to attend mediation.
Try to find out why your spouse doesn’t want to mediate and what your spouse’s specific concerns are regarding the mediation.
You can then interview mediators to see if they have solutions to address that concern.
If this isn’t the case for you and you need a mediator, contact Dina Haddad today. She can schedule a free consultation.
You should stay educated on the differences in divorcing options (as we discussed earlier.) There are a lot of reasons why mediation is your best bet if you are considering it in your divorce.
Skip adversarial court battles and expensive attorneys by mediating your divorce with Families First Mediation.
Create a personalized and quality agreement with Dina Haddad. Schedule your free video consultation today.
To word it with grace, “divorce is a complex and emotionally charged process, but choosing the right method can significantly impact the outcome.”
One of the best divorce mediators services you can find near you in California is ‘Families First Mediation.’
The founder of Families First Mediation is Dina Haddad. Ms. Haddad received the honorable designation of Super Lawyer for her exceptional mediation work in California.
Her mission is to prove only the best quality services available to clients at all socio-economic levels. She has practiced family law in Southern California and Northern California at some of the most prestigious law firms.
Families First Mediation also provides an all purpose settlement conference for parties that need an alternative option to other more expensive choices.
Through them, you can reduce stress, time, and cost. Dina and her other divorce attorney-mediators can manage high-conflict/high-asset cases to reach a speedy resolution. Focused on not only helping you just during your appointment but also creating a plan for your future.
They can understand that mediation, on top of everything else, can be overwhelming. But in their words – “mediation is the best way to take control of your divorce and get the best results.”
Divorce mediation in California can be one of the best options for an amicable and peaceful dissolution. But (as we have discussed), you should always prepare yourself and ensure this is what will be best for you and your partner.
Mediation has many perks and can give you an advantage over disagreements, but it is only suitable for some situations.
If you have these issues in your relationship with your divorcé – you have options like litigation, arbitration, and even collaborative divorce.
Your main goal should be choosing the best method to serve you and your interests.
Skip adversarial court battles and expensive attorneys by mediating your divorce with Families First Mediation. Create a personalized and quality agreement with Dina Haddad.
Schedule your free video consultation today.
Next Reading: Online Divorce Mediation| Complete Guide
Cases involving abuse, power imbalances, or other complicated legal issues. There are reasons that these factors don’t make a suitable environment for mediation.
In these situations, consider whether having an attorney consult with you while you are mediating is enough for you to receive the mediation benefits without you being harmed.
A lawyer can help you better understand not just your rights but your partner’s rights to prevent further trouble.
They can also represent you in court (if you aren’t doing a DIY divorce, you won’t need to go to court to begin with). But you do not need one, no.
They are not necessary during mediation sessions.
Divorce mediation is recommended in most cases. It can help you communicate one-on-one with your spouse, lay out what you want out of the divorce, and hear what your partner wants out of the divorce.
Mediation sessions focus more on issues like property division, coming up with plans for child custody and visitation, child support, and alimony.
Families First Mediation is a pioneer in the field of divorce mediation. Our entire divorce mediation team takes great pride in being active trainers, divorce mediators and teachers of mediation in the greater California area. If you are considering a collaborative divorce, legal seperation or looking for a san jose divorce lawyer we have services that may be beneficial to you. Take advantage of our vast expertise and background in the field of divorce mediation and our genuine desire to help with your divorce mediation services.