If you are reading this announcement you have just been made aware of one of the best kept secrets in the world of Divorce, the option to mediate. We have been conditioned to pick up the phone and call a Divorce Attorney when there is a breakdown in our marriages to set it up to be an expensive, knock down, drag out, public spectacle in the family court. This is the route that a majority of couples take with their divorce, and unfortunately it is because mediation is still a little known option.
Mediation is not a bargain basement inferior product for those who can’t afford to lawyer up. It is instead a healthier alternative. One professional works with both spouses to make sure they are well educated and informed of their rights and responsibilities, their assets, debts and income, and their options. Before any decisions are made the mediator works with the couple to make sure they have all the information they need to make good decisions. It is much less expensive but that is only because it is a much more efficient process at getting the couple the information that is needed to make good decisions. The process focuses on the best options for the family.
Mediation is less stressful, much more responsive to meeting the needs of the family as they arise, provides many more creative options for the couple to consider, takes a fraction of the time and is much less expensive. After 30 years of working with litigating and mediating clients, my experience is that mediating clients are much happier with both the process and the outcome. Divorce is not pleasant for anyone, but mediation provides a healthier alternative for going through this difficult event. My experience is that most couples that give mediation a try are able to successfully complete the process.
The only explanation that I have for why everyone who is experiencing a breakdown in their marriage is not picking up the phone and calling their Divorce Mediator to help them and their spouse navigate their divorce in a healthy way, is because it remains the best kept secret in the World of Divorce. It is time to let the cat out of the bag and help divorcing couples move forward in a practical, thoughtful, efficient and respectful way with divorce mediation. Sound the trumpets.