The Digital Journal posted this about the costs of litigated divorce vs. mediated divorce. 

"When going through a divorce process, money is often the last thing people want to add to their list of worries. Choosing to go through a litigated divorce is estimated to cost couples up to $32,000 and that’s if things go well as planned. In most cases, the cases don’t go well and even more money ends up being spent. Thankfully, mediated divorce offers a far more cost-effective alternative as everything can be mediated."

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/4715373#ixzz6Perjnhwq

The Taunton Gazette in New York wrote an insightful article about the sudden need for mediation and parenting plans amid the pandemic. ````````````````````With new orders everyday for people to isolate, quarantine or lock down, how will you and your children adapt?  

How will your custody change?
How do your views on how to address this align and conflict?
With job losses, how will child support change?

There are no shortage of questions to be worked through and unless you have an emergency order, most of these issues will not be resolved in a courtroom.  

Mediation can be a good route to developing a plan that works for everyone.  Putting your child(ren)’s needs first will ensure that they are less traumatized during this upset.  

Fill out a contact form today to book a mediation session where you can develop a COVID-19 parenting plan together. 

Many people don't realize that Mediation is a course of action that is ALWAYS an option.  May times clients who are court-ordered to seek a resolution through mediation give up after the first attempt.  It is often the case that the real problem with finding a resolution is timing.  That means, if the same two parties were to attempt Mediation at a later time, the result could be remarkably different.  

It is always worthwhile to reconsider and make multiple attempts to mediate a dispute, even if you have previous failed attempts.  A mutual agreement is almost always better than a court-order for all parties involved.  If you're feeling DONE, take control and give mediation a try.  

Ongoing, regularly scheduled mediation sessions to address regularly occurring custody issues (extracurricular, holidays, etc.) is a great way to avoid high conflict interactions in uncontrolled environments and relieve anxiety and distrust when co-parenting.  

To book your next mediation session, click here.

I once observed a mediation that was mainly about the custody of a single child.  One parent was down to once a week monitored visits only.  Both parents realized how important it is for their child to have time and a relationship with both parents.  Because they started with the same value (the child having a relationship with both parents) they were able to set up an 18 month plan toward shared custody that worked in stages.  

With each 3-6 month stage of their agreement, the parent with limited time, committed to take steps to improve their living situation to benefit the child and gain trust in the other parent.  Each step challenged both parties to leave their comfort zone but with a focus on the child.  That was really the key to bringing them to the table.  There were safe guards in place to revert back to the beginning of the stages certain conditions were not met or violated.  Both parents left feeling hopeful and secure.  

Often times it is difficult to make big changes all at once.  Mediation is a place where both parties can openly express their concerns and hesitations and create a plan together that addresses those concerns and hesitations.  When both parties work toward a common ideal/value, there is limitless options on a path forward that will protect the interests of all parties while operating in good faith.  

It is so satisfying seeing parties previously in conflict work together on their own.  When their agreements are their own, they are more likely to stick to them.  This was a very valuable learning experience for me that I have already applied to my own life.  

That's the beauty of mediation, each one is unique and can help make everyone involved more open and understanding toward others.