Reaching an agreement on divorce issues like property division, child custody, and spousal maintenance is often difficult to do without help. If you are considering divorce, you may be looking for alternative dispute resolution methods including collaborative law and mediation. These methods may allow you to reach an agreement about the terms of your divorce without going through a stressful and expensive litigation process. Reaching an agreement without court intervention may also allow you to keep the divorce as amicable as possible. However, these dispute resolution methods may not be for everyone. A skilled divorce attorney can provide personalized guidance about how best to resolve disputes during divorce.
Working With a Mediator to Negotiate Divorce Issues
During divorce mediation, divorcing spouses work with a mediator to discuss the unresolved divorce issues and, ideally, reach a mutually agreeable solution to those issues. The mediator helps the couple find common ground, explore possibilities, and negotiate the issues constructively. Mediation has worked for countless couples, however, there are limits to mediation. A mediator cannot give you legal advice and cannot represent you in court should your case end up going to litigation. Mediation may not be appropriate if a spouse has a history of abuse or if there is a major power imbalance between the spouses.
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