DivorceResource.com

MEDIATION

This blog post is about mediation.  The traditional method of reaching a settlement regarding  separation/divorce matters is for each party to negotiate the terms of a legal separation or property settlement agreement through their respective attorneys.  The most popular alternative to this traditional approach is mediation.  Mediation involves a third party neutral facilitator called a “mediator” whose job is to facilitate or assist the parties in working through their issues and reaching a settlement. The parties determine what issues are addressed and  how each issue is resolved.   Mediators can be anyone trained to be a mediator.  The most effective mediators are experienced family law attorneys.  These mediation trained lawyers know family law and can be a tremendous resource for both parties as they work their way through the mediation process.  The most common mediation model is the “three person model”.  Three people are in the room where the mediation takes place.  Usually there is a rectangular table and the two parties are seated on opposite sides with the mediator positioned in the middle  so that it is clear that the mediator is not biased toward either side.  As the parties  make progress on issues, the mediator takes detailed notes.  Generally, after one to two hours, the participants will terminate the session and come back for as many sessions as necessary until an agreement is reached on all issues.   The mediator will draw up the written separation/property settlement agreement for review by each party.  The parties will each have the opportunity to have the mediated agreement reviewed by an attorney of his or her own choosing.   The “five person model” involves the mediator, the parties, and a lawyer for each party.

COLLABORATIVE DIVORCE

Collaborative divorce is used to describe a fairly new concept in divorce services.     The traditional approach is for the parties to each retain a lawyer who focuses on the legal issues involved in the case while to a much lesser degree financial and other issues. The parties seek the relief they are seeking through their lawyers and the adversarial process.   Collaborative divorce involves a team of specially-trained professionals to assist each of the divorcing spouses reach an amicable settlement. It is designed to be a comprehensive approach that addresses not just the divorcing parties’ legal needs but other need such as their psycho/emotional and financial needs.  In collaborative divorce, each party, has their own collaboratively-trained attorney.  The focus of a collaborative approach is obtaining the best possible situation for each party after they go their separate ways, emotionally and financially.  Both parties also select and retain a licensed mental health professionals who focuses on getting the party through the often-painful divorce process itself.  When their are children involved, another member of the team often is the “child’s specialist.”  who is a mental health professional specially-trained to assist the children deal with the trauma of divorce. The final member of the five or six member team is the joint financial specialist to help deal with the finanical challengers that result from divorce.   Rather than requiring the attorney,  to deal with the psycho/emotional and financial components of the separation, collaborative divorce assigns those important tasks to professionals specifically trained in those disciplines.