Mediation is useful in just about any divorce situation. When emotions run high, and justifiably so, it is vital to manage them without minimizing their importance and meaning. Mediators are there to help acknowledge, understand, express and manage clients' emotions en route to amicable solutions.
According to Jennifer Baker of the Forest Institute of Professional Psychology, 50% of first marriages, 67% of second marriages and 74% of third marriages end in divorce. As bad as it is for first marriages, it seems lessons are not learned. Childlessness is cited as a common cause, but often it is problems with children, in-laws, finances, and the commonly used escape clause incompatibility that are reasons for divorce. A good many divorces might be prevented if couples considered mediation prior to applying for divorce.
Mediation is not marriage counseling or “treatment” of some sort. Mediation is allowing a third party neutral to disputes to hear both sides and enable them to better understand each other. Typically, it is the lack of communication and the avoidance of the difficult conversation that is the root cause of divorce. If you are thinking of divorce, you may have other options before contacting a divorce attorney.
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.