It's a fact; divorce is one of the most stressful situations you can go through in your lifetime.Yet you may choose to make it an even more difficult and costly experience for yourself by paying attorneys copious amounts of money to fight a extended and painful battle.If your children are involved this path can be an even more stressful situation.There are circumstances where the court and litigation process is the right one but even then mediation is often a viable, and sometimes required, option to work out part of the agreement leaving only the unresolved issues to the attorneys and the courts.And most certainly where there are children involved it is often in their best interest for their parents to design a parenting agreement that puts the children first. A parenting plan should be born out of compassion and care for the children’s future rather than one that is based on acrimony and winning the battle.Separating couples often go through the divorce or separation process trying to win a battle of the past relationship rather than thinking about what's best for them and their children’s future.It would seem that the intelligent and thoughtful way to move forward and get on with one's life is often through the mediation process.The mediation process empowers the involved parties to have a say so in their divorce or separation rather than have a decision imposed on them by the court.Lower cost, less stress and more meaningful agreements are some of the direct benefits of mediation.