Why Choose Divorce Mediation?
The decision to divorce is a difficult one. Divorce Mediation is an alternative to court hearings for couples who want to divide property, finances and parenting responsibilities. In this blog, we will discuss some of the reasons why mediation may be right for you.
Allows Couples to Create a Healthier Post-Divorce Relationship
Divorce mediation is an excellent way for couples to rethink their post-divorce relationship by creating new ways of coexisting rather than perpetuating an adversarial mentality. This can be attributed to the fact that couples are opening themselves to a more respectful and problem-solving environment by avoiding the traditional court-litigated process that often leaves people tense, resentful, or angry at one another.
Since the premise of divorce mediation is to provide an opportunity for divorcing couples to communicate more effectively to come up with a mutually beneficial agreement, the spouses will not be as opposed as they would be if they went to court. This, in turn, can foster a more considerate post-divorce relationship.
Provides Flexibility in How You Resolve Your Disputes
In mediation, you have more flexibility on how compromises are reached concerning property division, spousal support and child custody discussions. This is because mediation offers an opportunity for both parties in a divorce case to share their points of view and then come up with a settlement that meets everyone’s needs while simultaneously being fair. This often leads to an outcome where the parties involved feel better about a divorce settlement since they have actively negotiated it. This is only logical since anyone who has a say in a matter involving them will feel heard and therefore believe the outcome is more just than if it was imposed on them.
Makes Divorcing Easier on Your Children
Children are often one of the primary motivations for parents to choose mediation instead of going through litigation proceedings. This is because the mediation process makes it less likely that your children will suffer from emotional distress and traumatic effects that arise from adversarial court hearings during custody battles.
Since parents no doubt want the best for their kids, why not seize a vastly more beneficial solution for themselves and their kids? If children are seeing their parents work together rather than fighting, they will inevitably be happier, and they can get back to enjoying their childhood and adjusting to their new family arrangements rather than have to worry about family issues that are dragging on in court.
Divorce Mediation is Often Quicker Than Litigation
The decision to divorce is usually a difficult one that most would rather see be done and over with as quickly as possible. Divorce mediation speeds up the process by offering a deferential medium for couples to come up with their own agreements. This means there is no need to wait months or even years for a decision from a judge, nor do the couples see their schedules interrupted by court hearings. A mediator can help divorcing spouses find new solutions to resolve issues quicker.
Divorce Mediation Can Help You Address Difficult Financial Issues In A Positive Way
Divorced people often have disagreements about financial issues. Divorce mediation allows spouses to come up with their own solutions on difficult topics. Divorce Mediation can help you positively address difficult financial issues!
Minimizes Your Legal Expenses and Lawyer Costs
Given that divorce mediation is a non-adversarial process, you can also expect to pay less on your legal fees. This is because the divorcing couple will be hiring one mediator so that they can share those expenses. Both spouses don’t need to retain counsel for the entire mediation process, which is almost a necessity in a typical court-litigated divorce. Spouses can hire legal counsel during mediation, but it is usually limited to obtaining independent legal advice rather than having the lawyer fight for them throughout the entire process[1]. Divorce lawyers are expensive, so choose an option that can see you save substantial amounts of money.
Will Keep Your Family Affairs Out of the Public Eye
When spouses decide to go through a court-litigated divorce, everything filed with the court becomes a matter of public record. It is safe to say that most couples do not want their private family affairs accessible by the general public. Divorce mediation is a perfect solution to avoid this entirely. That’s because the final agreement that the spouses reach is an out-of-court settlement and therefore remains private.
There is an added benefit to knowing that the final settlement will be private. This comes in the form of more honest and open negotiations. Candid and honest conversations between spouses are more likely when they know their conversations will not be made public. It’s only normal to be reticent if you feel as if people are judging you. By choosing divorce mediation, the final agreement can be more in tune with what the parties truly desire rather than what they want people to perceive[2].
Divorce Mediation Can Help Bring a More Durable Agreement
Divorce mediation produces agreements that are more likely to be followed because both parties have a say in creating them. This also means that the agreement is not imposed on them by a third party. Divorce mediation produces agreements that are more likely to be followed because both parties choose to agree to them. It’s human nature to want to try and rebel against something that was imposed against our will.
Can Help With Providing Closure
Divorcing couples often harbour less than favourable feelings towards one another. If these feelings aren’t resolved, old wounds may take a long time to heal. Since divorce mediation allows spouses to meet in a safe environment, it can resolve outstanding issues between the two. This results from the possibility of holding meaningful discussions regarding any difficult feelings that could be causing tension between them. This is an opportunity for the spouses to reach closure on their marriage. Simply put, divorce mediation can help with moving forward faster.
In short,
Divorce mediation is a highly effective tool to help you get through your divorce. It can offer a large variety of benefits that you can never expect from a courtroom-litigated divorce. You will amicably resolve the issues between you with less conflict than litigation. Other great perks that come with choosing this route include retaining your privacy, saving time and money and stress relief. If you are contemplating divorce, you should seriously consider divorce mediation as the preferred method. After all, an overwhelming majority of divorces end in a settlement before going to trial[3], so why not avoid the initial steps of a divorce trial and go straight to a solution that is mutually beneficial for you and your spouse!
