Divorce mediation is a positive alternative to litigation

Marriages end for a variety of reasons for couples in California and across the United States. While the term “divorce” often conjures up images of anger, pain and hatred as well as lengthy struggles in the courtroom, this is not the only way to bring a marriage to an end. Divorce litigation can be costly on both a financial and emotional level. Divorcing couples can lose up to a third of their total net worth due to the fees and costs that come with a contested courtroom divorce. A courtroom environment can emphasize the adversarial nature of divorce proceedings and augment an already-fragile emotional situation.

This can be particularly concerning for divorcing couples that need to co-parent after the divorce as well as former spouses that want to preserve an amicable relationship. Divorce mediation is one option that can help both parties in a divorce achieve their goals and leave the marriage with a positive outcome. Divorce mediators focus on supporting constructive communication and avoiding inflammatory or disparaging remarks. Building an environment of respectful communication helps to manage the resolution of financial concerns and property division and also can play a major role in supporting positive custody agreements and ongoing co-parenting relationships.

Divorce mediators also use trained listening techniques to support communication between the parties and focus on the key emotional and practical content of their thoughts. They summarize previous comments and validate the individuals’ emotions without taking sides, allowing both participants to feel heard and understood.

Divorce mediation can be an important collaborative process for ending a marriage amicably. A family law attorney can help a couple that’s seeking a divorce to pursue a mediation process that is designed to create a constructive environment for ongoing co-parenting. Mediation can be used to sort out property and asset division as well as matters related to child custody, spousal support and other concerns.