Contemplating Divorce? Consider Mediation
Philip Mulford

Mediation is an especially effective process for resolving issues that arise when a couple contemplates divorce. Mediation allows a husband and wife to make the decisions that are going to affect them and their children for the rest of their lives. Since a husband and wife remain the experts on their marriage and family even under the most troubling circumstances of divorce and since the results are going to affect them directly, they should control the outcome. Mediation gives them control.

If You're Divorcing, Consider Mediation
Ellie Stoddard
If you or someone you know is considering, or in the process of getting, a divorce, there's something you should know. There's a way to go through the process that could contain hostilities, save spouses lots of time, and money, and leave the parties more intact when the process is done. That way is mediation.

Mediating Divorce Agreements
Matthew McCusker
When looking at the multitude of contexts where mediation is now being utilized, divorce mediation stands out as one of the fastest growing fields. The courts have decided to place an emphasis on providing couples with the opportunity to fashion their own agreement, rather than asking judges to deduce acceptable terms.

Would I Prefer Mediation for My Divorce?
Rachel Fishman Green, Esq.
Mediation is a process where you and your spouse will sit down with a neutral person who will help you, sometimes with and most often without attorneys present, to negotiate the terms of your divorce. Attorney/Mediator Green reflects on her personal practice to answers some of the common questions about divorce mediation: do mediated divorces reflect the law?, is my case appropriate for mediation? , and what are the benefits of mediation?

Getting a Divorce? Why You Should Not Just Fight It Out
Mimi E. Lyster
Many have traveled the adversarial road, and probably for many of the same reasons. Constant fighting, arguing and blaming in a marriage or similarly committed relationship generally leads to more of the same while dissolving it. Unfortunately, the consequences of continuing this behavior can be dramatic, including protracted litigation, escalating costs, a dramatically reduced standard of living and significant damage to your children’s emotional well-being.

Can You Have a Mediated Divorce If You Are Angry at Your Spouse?
Rachel Fishman Green, Esq

Anger is a normal feeling to have during a divorce. In fact, if you didn’t feel angry there would probably be something very wrong. Usually, one person has been unhappy for a period of time preceding the divorce, and was angry during this time. When that person tells the other that he or she has decided to leave the marriage, the other is in shock and has to deal with lots of emotions – sorrow, fear and certainly anger.

If You Must…Divorce Lovingly
Timothy J. Mordaunt
Divorce Lovingly, are probably two words you thought you would never see used together. Mediation (not meditation) presents a viable alternative to litigation for couples who are separating and divorcing.

The Psychology of Divorce
Chip Rose, Donald T. Saposnek
In helping couples to successfully negotiate the ending of their marital relationship, it is vital for the divorce professional to understand the underlying dynamics of the family as a system and of the divorce process; the professional must grasp how the divorce crisis influences and is influenced by both family structure and family process.

Psychological and Emotional Aspects of Divorce

It may be helpful to understand a little about divorce and the typical effects it has on men, women and children. The divorce rate in the United States is the highest in the world. Fifty percent of marriages end in divorce.

Conflict Resolution Tips for Divorcing Couples
Oran Kaufman
Mediation provides clients with a safe venue to discuss their divorce. Mediation however will not automatically undo years of ingrained behavior. Mediators and therapists can offer clients tools which will help them mentally and emotionally for the divorce process. Below are a few suggestions. At the end of this article, I have included a Conflict Self-Assessment tool as well as an outline of this article which you can give to clients engaged in the divorce mediation process.

Divorce Mediation Leads to a Lasting Resolution

The positive and transforming effects of mediation can have a lasting effect beyond the context of the dispute at hand. The following is a first person story of such a change. In this particular instance, the mediation community is an indirect beneficiary of the resolution of this family dispute, as the author of the story recently completed mediation training, and is a volunteer mediator with a community-based mediation service.

Coming to Grips With the Financial Fear Factor
Donna Smalldon
One of the biggest sources of stress between spouses is money. Particularly if the couple is breaking up, a lack of familiarity with family finances and financial planning can cause anxiety levels to go off the charts. In mediation, that anxiety can present itself as tears, withdrawal, temper, or any of a host of emotions that aren’t very conducive to the process.

Mediation: Reaching Its Potential in Family Law Cases
Nimfa Vilches
Family law case mediation is a form of alternative dispute resolution in a private forum before a case is filed in court or a court-annexed one that is discussed in this article whereby an impartial person, a professional, or a judge in a two-court system helps parties define issues and have a plan to deal with them. A family case mediator sits down with people to discuss options and develop proposals to resolve a dispute. The mediator does not take sides. Every party attends the process and they make all the decisions. Mediation sessions are confidential.

Beyond Blame
Lynn Duryee
When I became the Marin County family law judge this year, I expected to rule on child custody issues, disagreements about visitation, and disputes involving payment of child support. What I didn’t expect to rule on were fights between parents over whether their child should play soccer or lacrosse; study piano or violin; receive orthodontic treatment with Dr. Gonzalez in San Rafael or Dr. Falkow in Mill Valley; be bat mitzvah’d at the temple or confirmed in the church.

How Mediation Can Help Same Gender Relationships
Barry Simon

Nearly ten years ago when Marlene first met Liz, their future as a couple seemed so bright. They shared a vision that included a house and a child. Unfortunately, they never talked about the details. For Mark and Juan their future as a couple was just as promising. Sharp looking and invited to all the right parties, they sat on the top of their world. That was before the waiter. And the violence.

Mediation: When the Alternative Is Unacceptable
Gene D. Barr
It is not the intent of this article to debate the issue of marriage. What marriage is, should be, and who may be joined in civil and holy matrimony, is left to greater minds. This article is about the inequity of law that committed - unmarried couples suffer when ending their relationships, the lack of a structured process by which they may resolve the issues confronted when doing so and the legal void that mediation effectively fills.

Gay Divorce?
Matthew McCusker
The topic of same-sex marriage has recently become a major “hot-button” issue for policymakers and judicial circuits at the local, state, and national levels. While the determination of procedure has remained in the domain of legislatures and courthouses, same-sex couples have continued to create long-term relationships that have resulted in intertwined lives. Consequently, there has also been an increasing need for assistance and direction for couples during same-sex partnership dissolutions.