Make Yourself Aware About Divorce Mediation
You might be thinking that you don’t need to make yourself aware about anything divorce related because it’s not going to happen to you. The truth is that 90% of Americans get married and the inconvenient truth is that somewhere between 40% – 50% of married couples get divorced according to the American Psychological Association. This means that there’s a 36% – 45% probability that you will get divorced at some point in your life and almost certainty that you know or will know someone getting divorced.
Whether you are married or plan on getting married, you should know that in the event of a divorce couples don’t have to spend their hard-earned money on infamously high attorney’s fees just so they can publicly litigate a divorce for an outcome that may or may not be equitable. There’s another option for divorce besides traditional litigation that is faster, much cheaper, involves more privacy, and empowers both spouses to take control over the outcome of their divorce.
In Divorce Mediation, spouses voluntarily come together with a neutral third-party mediator to negotiate an amicable divorce settlement. The mediator is present to ensure a cordial discourse and assist each spouse with expressing their point of view and perceiving the other spouse’s point of view. The mediator has no control over the outcome of the divorce settlement. In other words, the mediator controls the process of negotiation and the parties control the outcome.
Do you really want to leave something like how your children will be cared for in the hands of a judge or would you rather determine your own parenting plan? Would you rather spend your own money on an attorney with an hourly rate higher than a mediator or would you rather split the cost of mediation with your soon to be ex-spouse?
Generally speaking, Divorce Mediation is a good idea for all the reasons mentioned above. However, you should be aware that Divorce Mediation probably isn’t for you if your marriage involved spousal or child abuse, you were silenced during your marriage, you think your spouse is lying about certain assets, and/or either spouse has an addiction that could impair their judgment. The bottom line is that if your marriage has a major power imbalance or either spouse’s judgment could be impaired, then you should strongly consider litigation.
If mediation sounds like a good option for you or someone you know, then I recommend heading to mediate.com to learn more. They are the world’s leading mediation website with thousands of articles, blog postings, and videos to learn from.
Divorce is hard so don’t make it harder. Mediate.
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