An item of future conflict that is often overlooked when knee-deep in a divorce, is how both parties will address relationships with significant others in the future.  

The goal of mediation is to reduce the amount of conflict not only during divorce, but in a way that sets up a good foundation to avoid conflict in the future. 

This is a good article with a free worksheet for co-parents to use as a reference.  There is a lot to consider when it comes to when and how to introduce a new romantic partner to your co-parent and kids.  

Hello Divorce 

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I don't often look to celebrities for their life choices, but in this case, it's great to see what ANYONE is doing for co-parenting that WORKS.  Co-parenting is such an essential part of an divorce.  It requires a lot of planning, communication and coordination.  

If you're looking to be inspired, check out this article on insider.com 

A new article on Yahoo.com goes over 5 basic signs that mediation may not prove to be productive. 

Dr. Jann Blackstone says they are:
1. There’s So Much Animosity, You Can’t Talk to Each Other
2. There’s a History of Drug or Alcohol Abuse or Domestic Violence
3. There’s a Mental Health Issue
4. There’s No Seeing Eye-to-Eye on Custody
5. One—or Both—Parties Aren’t Willing to Put in the Time Needed to Sort Things Out

​For more details and information, click on the link.  In the State of Utah, parents seeking divorce are REQUIRED to attempt mediation unless they have a court exception.  Just because it might not be productive does not mean you can avoid it all together.  If you are looking for a mediator, reach out to us today and schedule your mediation.  

In support of using Mediation in Medicine, an abstract found on PubMed.gov (National Library of Medicine), Debra Gerardi says:

"Healthcare organizations must find ways for managing conflict and developing effective working relationships to create healthy work environments. The effects of unresolved conflict on clinical outcomes, staff retention, and the financial health of the organization lead to many unnecessary costs that divert resources from clinical care. The complexity of delivering critical care services makes conflict resolution difficult. Developing collaborative working relationships helps to manage conflict in complex environments. Working relationships are based on the ability to deal with differences. Dealing with differences requires skill development and techniques for balancing interests and communicating effectively. Techniques used by mediators are effective for resolving disputes and developing working relationships. With practice, these techniques are easily transferable to the clinical setting. Listening for understanding, reframing, elevating the definition of the problem, and forming clear agreements can foster working relationships, decrease the level of conflict, and create healthy work environments that benefit patients and professionals."

Mediation can be used as a tool to improve communication and resolve conflict and tension in any environment.  If you have a workplace issue, do not hesitate to contact us and find out how we can help.  

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

Digital Journal just posted an article called 'Mediation is the Secret to a Simple and Cost-Effective Divorce.  

Naturally, this may seem obvious, but may still be an under utilized option.  

In many cases the emotional and mental distress caused by divorce can cause parties to have tunnel vision and render them incapable of thinking through possible alternatives that are less-costly.  

"Anger and disappointments are common feelings in most divorce negotiation processes. In most cases, the involved parties have a hard time reaching agreement on divorce issues such as child custody, division of property, child support, and visitation issues among others. However, mediation often provides the divorcing spouses an opportunity to take control of their future lives by resolving the contentious issues without the necessity of litigation."

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/4715373#ixzz6PeqffwL5

Familylawweek.co.uk posted an article about how to have mediation during a lockdown.  They mention a lot of the issues that may need to be addressed during a lockdown situation: 

What are some of the issues that could be addressed in mediation, that separated parents are facing during this unprecedented time?

The following is by no means an exhaustive list, but sets out some examples:

• The other parent refuses to talk to me about anything to do with the impact of Covid 19 on our parenting
• I have symptoms of Covid 19 but my child is fine so can't they still go to the other parent and give me a break?
• My child has symptoms of Covid 19 and so I want to keep them at home but the other parent is saying they think they have already had the virus and so are insisting that they are equally able to provide care
• I am frightened that letting my child travel to the other parent will increase their risk of getting Covid 19
• The other parent does not trust me to be as careful as them so they won't let my child come to stay with me at the moment
• I want the care arrangements to continue because I need to work but the other parent says I am the main carer and should prioritise our child
• Now that my child is not at school, and it's not school holidays, the other parent refuses to share the care of the child during what would have been the school day
• I want to discuss changing the arrangements for the school holidays because we will now not be going away on holiday
• I want to discuss other ways of having contact with my children whilst I have symptoms
• I normally see my children in a contact centre but I have been told it is closed.

It is always helpful to look at other resources and see what other mediators are addressing during these ever-changing circumstances.  If you need mediation to discuss these issues, contact us today.  Don’t wait.