You don’t get married with the idea that you will one day go through the divorce process. Even so, many people find themselves in this position every year.
If divorce is in your future, you may want to learn more about mediation. Contrary to popular belief, litigation is not always necessary. If you and your spouse are willing to work together to put your divorce in the past, mediation could be the answer.
Up front, you need to set a variety of goals to ensure that you are always moving in the right direction.
While no two people are the same, here are the basic goals of divorce mediation:
- To create an equitable divorce agreement that satisfies the wants and needs of both individuals.
- To avoid the expense and additional hard feelings that typically accompany litigation.
- To speed up the process, with divorce mediation often coming to a completion after a few sessions.
Once you set these goals, you can turn your attention to the process and what is expected of you.
Tips for success
Here are some of the many things you can do to improve your chance of success with divorce mediation:
- Be open to compromise, as you aren’t likely to get everything you want
- Focus on all the most important details, ensuring that you leave nothing out
- Don’t engage in arguments with the other party
- Let the mediator do his or her job, as they know how to push each session forward
- Get the help of a family law attorney to ensure that you’re making good decisions
It’s imperative to know the goals of divorce mediation before you meet for the first time. You’ll have the chance to discuss this at the first meeting, so don’t hesitate to share your thoughts on what you want to accomplish.
There are many reasons to consider divorce mediation, so you should at least look into this. When you combine the benefits with the ability to set clear goals, it’s easy to see why so many people are using mediation to their advantage.