Are you searching for information to explain how your spouse may agree to divorce mediation? Mediation is often a private, cost-effective and timely tool for resolving areas of disagreement during the process of a divorce. It is also a tool which can help to work through any disagreements which arise down the road if you intend to co-parent.
How do you approach the topic of mediation? Is privacy important to your spouse? Everything in a divorce is part of the public record. Mediation is a private, confidential venue. The only information from mediation which becomes part of the public record is usually the agreement(s) reached between the former spouses. Also, confidential offers or information shared in the context of mediation cannot be taken into Court. What happens in mediation, stays in mediation.
Your spouse may agree to divorce mediation based on issues of cost alone. One of the most important concepts to know about divorce is the cost of your divorce and ultimately the time it will take to complete are both directly associated with the level of disagreement between the two of you on any or multiple issues in the divorce, including but not limited to:
- Child custody and parenting time
- Child support
- Maintenance
- Division of assets and liabilities
- Division of retirement accounts and pensions
- Dividing the marital interest in a business or professional practice
Mediation can also be substantially less expensive and much faster than waiting for a Court date and battling out the issues in Court.
The second issue is input and influence over the outcome(s). When you put an argument before the Court a total stranger, the Judge, will make permanent decisions over your life, money and children. It is important to understand divorce is not a “win” or “lose” proposition. The Judge works to issue decisions which are fair while both parties have to give a little to get a little more of what they want. It is often the case that neither party walks away particularly happy from a Judge’s decision. In fact, that is exactly how most Judges know they’ve struck the right balance.
Your spouse may agree to divorce mediation in order to be able to have input and influence on the process of resolving issues as well as the ultimate agreement reached in the matter. Many substantive studies have shown agreements reached in mediation are much more satisfactory to the participants. They also show that those who reach an agreement in mediation are significantly more likely to abide by that agreement after the divorce. This reduces the presence of post-divorce bickering and time consuming, expensive post-decree litigation.
Finally, if you intend to co-parent (sharing custody and parenting time of your children) it will be important to have a working relationship. Mediation helps to create a sense of teamwork and provides new tools for the parties to build upon as they work together in the future to co-parent. Replacing emotional, bitter arguments with calm and civil processes in the protected environment of a mediation can help you to reach better agreement(s), make the entire process of a divorce less stressful while reducing the cost of your divorce and the time it takes to complete.
We invite you to review the strong recommendations of our former clients and contact us or call 502-584-1108 to schedule an appointment with one of our experienced divorce and family law attorneys.
