Separation & Divorce Mediation, Collaborative Law and Legal Representation in Uncontested Divorce Matters in Maryland      

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Find a better way to handle a traumatic family experience like separation or divorce. Mediate your separation or divorce conflicts with an attorney/mediator concentrating in family law issues. If mediation is not the right choice for you, discover the option of "collaborative law".  Collaborative Law, is a process in which a husband and wife, each represented by a collaborative law attorney, commit to settle all of the issues involved in dissolving their marriage, in a civilized and fair way, without the threat of emotional and finance-draining court battles.  Nancy S. Caplan, Esq. offers you the opportunity to learn about about all of your options in an initial orientation for prospective mediation participants or in a consultation for prospective clients seeking my representation in a collaborative process or in an uncontested situation.   Stop the destruction and reconstruct your lives in a calm, practical way, with less fear and stress.  Discover your options, call for an appointment today.  Evening and weekend orientation and consultation hours are available.   Located in the heart of Towson, Maryland.

Contact our office   410-296-2190.

Thank you for educating yourself about the options available to take you through the process of separation and divorce.

Mediation.  Mediation is the process by which a skilled, neutral third-party (the Mediator) manages the husband-wife direct face-to-face negotiations of issues between conflicting parties to effectuate an agreement or conciliation of their child-related, support and property disputes.  In Mediation, even if the wife and husband each have lawyers to advise them on their  legal rights, the parties most often negotiate without the presence of their lawyers.  Together the couple make decisions about their children, personal finances and property, to come to an agreement that each person can live with.  The parties themselves, through consultation with their attorneys, or other legal information sources, financial and/or mental health professionals, as needed,  discuss, unravel facts and figures, negotiate and most often, work out the problems presented by a separation or divorce.   

Collaborative Law.  Couples who appreciate the emotional and financial benefits of avoiding the traditional courtroom litigation process to work out the problems presented in a separation or divorce, but do not feel comfortable negotiating on their own, should consider the process of "collaborative law."  Like mediation, in the collaborative law process, a couple agrees to participate in settlement negotiations.  Unlike most mediations, the parties in a collaborative law negotiation, do so with the direct assistance of their attorneys, with consultation with financial or mental health professionals as necessary. Mediation and Collaborative Law processes share the goal of finding the fair and practical solutions for families experiencing the trauma of separation or divorce. 

Legal Representation in Uncontested Divorces.  Often couples with little property and/or without shared children are able to make agreements themselves relating to the issues of their separation and divorce. Often a person will call and say "we've agreed to everything, we just need a Separation Agreement."  In that case, there is no dispute to mediate.  There is no dispute to be decided in a collaborative law setting.  There is no dispute to litigate in court.  What now?

In this situation, it may be most cost-effective to retain a lawyer to proceed through the Separation Agreement process.  A lawyer may ethically represent only one party. Therefore, if this situation applies to a couple, each party should attempt to jointly, deliberately and without threat to one another seek out independent attorneys for each party.  Hopefully the parties will seek out family law attorneys who also participate in the peaceful approaches to separation and divorce, attorneys like me, who are collaboratively and mediation-trained.  Choosing attorneys with similar fees and retainer requirements is another way to try to keep an "joint and equal" and less threatening feel to this difficult process.  I provide such legal representation to one party in such "uncontested matters."   I may either write the formal Separation and Property Settlement Agreement for submission to your spouse and/or his or her attorney, or I can review a Separation and Property Settlement Agreement drafted by your spouse's attorney.  This differs from mediation in that I will represent and give legal advice to the party who is my client.   While there may be certain loose ends and verification of facts, etc., generally in these cases the parties have: 1.) Fewer assets/disputes and 2.) have informally agreed to the largest issues arising from their marriage, separation and possible divorce.

It is important to note, however, in these matters, if issues become disputed giving rise to the need to file a lawsuit in court, you shall be referred to a litigation attorney for transition which may in fact increase your legal fees by duplication of efforts of two attorneys.

Mediation and Collaborative Law compared to traditional Separation and Divorce Litigation in the Court System.   When compared to the process of decision-making by judges, through litigation in the court system, Mediation and Collaborative law processes are faster, less stressful, private, controlled and very, very often, less expensive. 

All one needs to do is recall a day in court, awaiting one's turn at a traffic ticket hearing, to imagine the time lost from work and legal bills associated with utilizing the court system.  However, a traffic ticket hearing is usually resolved in a day.  Unfortunately, the separation and divorce process usually involves multiple trips to the court house to present evidence, witnesses and arguments to a judge who decides for the couple what will happen to their children, finances and property.  Naturally the two attorneys representing a couple must bill for time travelling to and from court and waiting to be heard by the judge.  Conservatively speaking, a two-hour wait/travel time, for a 10 minute court hearing simply to schedule the court timetable of a case, might cost a family four hours of legal fees.

By contrast, after four hours of mediation negotiations (costing the couple four mediation professional hours) or two hours of collaborative law negotiations (costing a couple four hours of collaborative professional fees),  a couple will be well on their way to making the immediate and pressing decisions, such as which spouse will leave the family home, and how that can be done without compromising legal rights relating to children, support and property.  With the pressing, immediate decisions made in a controlled way, the couple can focus on the complete, permanent resolution of the conflicts presented, privately, and as calmly as possible. 

Keeping Control  and Maintaining Privacy for and of Your Children, Finances and Property and Legal Fees.  How do Mediation and Collaborative Law differ from agreements reached through non-collaborative, attorney-driven negotiations or decisions made by judges in a court room?  Although there are many differences which are explained on this site, the key differences are the control a family maintains over each decision and step taken in the process, in a private setting.  These processes give families the maximum control over what is happening to them, when and how and at what cost to their children, finances and property. Mediated or Collaborative Agreements or decisions are the product of the two human beings who entered into the relationship.

Resentment and Frustration over choices made by a judge or agreements made out of fear and not out of logic and practicality.  Resentment and frustration over personal choices made for a family by a judge, or agreements negotiated by many non-collaborative lawyers driven to "win" for their clients through the use of positioning, fear-inspiring tactics, are common emotional by-products.  Coming to a financial agreement, out of fear of potential "other" losses (custody threats, or the threat of financial helplessness) often produce impractical or unfair results for one party.  A spouse who feels he or she has "the upper-hand" (perhaps due to the marital "fault" of the other) may quickly find that his or her "win" is short-lived.  How many financial "winners" find their "loser" spouses filing for bankruptcy, losing their employment due to distress, or despairing in emotional losses over children by withdrawing from their lives?  What if "the loser" spouse moves away or starts another family to replace the one he or she lost?  How difficult might it become to reap the fruits of the "win"?   The "winner" may find that the elation in the court house or after wrangling an overly-favorable  "agreement" from a spouse through fear-mongering by the "better" lawyer(translation: more aggressive, better-connected, more experienced) is quickly deflated by the reality of the negative reactions or impact on "the loser."

In short, if the "win" causes negative reactions or impact, or is impractical for one party, who will "live with" these consequences when the ink dries on the judgement or agreement?  Often the litigation lawyers will "go another round" to  enforce the judge's decision or the agreement.  How much more money will that cost you?  Or, what if the "winner" is suddenly the "loser" on the same or unrelated issue?  How will his or her spouse exact revenge or retaliation?  Then what?

Common Sense.  Unless you live in a bubble, the scenarios painted in the "win-lose" situation above are probably familiar stories.  It has happened to someone you know, or you've seen it dramatized in a movie.   These realities are not complex or far-fetched.  Finding a way to resolve the conflicts between even the most rage-filled and scorned spouses simply makes common sense.  Even if YOU are the spouse bent on retaliation, you know that underneath the hurt and anger, YOU will have to go on after the conflicts are decided.   This "moving on" will be difficult enough without financial devastion, emotionally-traumatized children, lost jobs and homes caused by irrational decisions born from hate and revenge.  Let a mediator or collaborative law attorney help you manage this process and help you help yourself.   It logically follows that complying with the terms of an agreement born of self-determination and free choice is easier than being told what to do.  

Two Logical Options available through Nancy Caplan, Esq.  Nancy Caplan, an attorney since 1986 and concentrating in the area of family law, is an ideal Mediator or Collaborative Law Professional to methodically guide your family through the issues of dissolution of a marriage or co-parent relationship, separation or divorce.  Whether through mediation or a collaborative law effort, Nancy Caplan can assist you to negotiate, agree and memorialize in writing the agreements you’ve made into a formal Separation Agreement on any issue including alimony, joint or sole custody, visitation, use and possession or sale of a family home, division of all property including cars, furniture, businesses,  bank accounts, retirement plans, pensions, life insurance policies or credit card debt.

Where is your downside? Come in for a complimentary consultation and learn about Mediation and Collaborative Law, so that you can make an informed choice.  Evening and weekend hours are available.  Take control by calling or emailing today, to bring you one step closer to putting it behind you as affordably and peacefully as is possible under the circumstances.

Contact our office by email or telephone 410-296-2190 to make your complimentary consultation to take the first step forward.

n Agreements, Family Law Mediation for Divorce, Child Support, Separation, Custody, Visitation, Child-Access, Alimony and Property Settlement

Serving the communities of the greater Baltimore Metropolitan Area, including:

• ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY - Annapolis, Crownsville, Crofton, Millersville, Severna Park, Glen Burnie, Bowie, Odenton,
• BALTIMORE COUNTY - Catonsville, Towson, Lutherville, Timonium, Cockeysville, Pikesville, Owings Mills, Reisterstown, Glyndon, Sparks, Hunt Valley, Monkton, Glencoe, Randallstown, New Town, Perry Hall, Parkville, Rosedale, Dundalk, Essex, Middle River, Edgemere, White Marsh
• HOWARD COUNTY - Columbia, Sykesville, Ellicott City, West Friendship
• HARFORD COUNTY - Bel Air, Joppatown, Aberdeen
• CARROLL COUNTY - Westminster, Taneytown, Finksburg and
• BALTIMORE CITY, MARYLAND.
• Coming Soon to MONTGOMERY COUNTY - Silver Spring, Rockville, Wheaton, Gaithersburg, Bethesda.