Divorce Mediation Right for Your Case?
When you and your soon-to-be former spouse decide to file for divorce, you may soon discover that there is more to the process than you initially realized. For instance, most people aren’t aware that it is not always necessary to go through a traditional courtroom divorce complete with lawyers and a judge. For an alternate way to end your marriage, divorce mediation can often be much less expensive, time-consuming and traumatic for you and your soon-to-be ex. However, this doesn’t mean that divorce mediation is the answer for every case- since no two divorce cases are alike, extenuating circumstances that must be settled by a court of law may exist. For example, if any illegal activity is involved in the grounds of your divorce, such as criminal behavior, spousal abuse, child abuse, a custody battle or other matters that require legal attention, you will need to pursue standard courtroom litigation. If none of that applies to your situation, you are free to try divorce mediation, and may find it to be a better way to end your marriage quickly and simply. Here are some facts we’ve compiled about the potential benefits of divorce mediation to help you decide if it’s right for you.
No Lawyers
When you think about filing for divorce, you may assume that hiring an attorney is a necessary step. However, unless there are legal matters involved in your split that need to be handled in court, the services of a divorce attorney may not be necessary for either you or your soon-to-be ex. If both parties can successfully negotiate the terms of the divorce agreement and arrive at a fair, mutually beneficial settlement, then you may be able to end your marriage using divorce mediation.
Lower Cost
As we mentioned above, opting for divorce mediation means there is no need to hire an attorney to finalize your divorce. Without legal representation, you won’t have to pay expensive attorney fees, which can lower the total cost of your divorce considerably. Of course, filing fees will still apply for the necessary paperwork you must complete, and a divorce mediator normally charges a fee as well, but the final cost of the dissolution of your marriage will still be much lower for both of you than traditional courtroom litigation would have been. This can be an extremely large benefit for newly-divorced people who are attempting to budget new expenses such as separate housing, child support and bill payment.
Low-Key
Chances are when you hear the term “divorce mediation,” you picture an amicable parting of the ways between one of those couples who divorce and still manage to stay friends. You are probably also thinking that you and your soon-to-be former spouse could not be farther from that couple! Actually, divorce mediation can work for couples who want a drama-free split, even if you can’t stand the thought of being in the same room together at the moment. And according to Chicago divorce mediation service, Split Simple, that’s typically the case. In reality, most divorcing couples have some animosity or anger toward one another during divorce proceedings (after all, you are ending your marriage because you have differences that can’t be resolved), so being on good terms when you enter divorce mediation is absolutely not required. However, you will quickly realize that the process will go much more swiftly and your divorce agreement will likely be far more beneficial to you and your former spouse if you can both remain as cooperative and levelheaded as possible during mediation sessions. Divorce mediation can often be a more peaceful, low-key solution for ending your marriage than traditional courtroom divorce proceedings.
If you and your soon-to-be former spouse are wishing to dissolve your marriage quickly and simply, would like to save money, and are without any extenuating legal circumstances that would have to be addressed in court, divorce mediation may be the best option for you. While going through a divorce is never exactly easy, choosing divorce mediation can potentially lessen some of the stress and grief that accompanies the end of a marriage, and can ultimately lead you to the closure you are looking for as you begin the next phase of your life.
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