Divorce mediation offers an alternative to litigated divorce
Dec 9 2016 - Posted by On Behalf of the Lincoln Law Firm, PPLC, in Divorce Mediation, Tagged in Divorce Mediation
Conflict can be the reason that a couple chooses to divorce, but not every Houston divorce is replete with fighting. In fact, some couples are able to work through the important negotiations of bringing their marriages to an end without the emotional stress of attending courtroom hearings. Couples that are able to do this are often well suited to use divorce mediation as a means of ending their relationships.
Divorce mediation is different from litigated divorce in several important ways. First, the divorcing parties work together to come up with property settlements, custody arrangements and other important divorce agreements without the help of family law judges. Second, the partners work with a mediator who does not make any decisions for the individuals but rather offers options and suggestions to the parties so that they may create their own negotiated understandings.
Couples who begin their divorces in mediation can move their legal matters to court if they are unable to settle their differences. Divorce mediation is not for everyone and couples that cannot work together as their marriages come to an end may struggle to make divorce mediation work.
It is important to remember that most courts require the parties to attend mediation before hearings or a trial, this is especially true if custody is disputed.
However, those who wish to give divorce mediation a try are encouraged to work with divorce mediators who have experience supporting couples who want to keep the peace as their marriages end. There is special training that a divorce mediator has to go through in order to work in such a capacity; The Lincoln Law Firm offers divorce mediation services and is available to work with couples to bring about collaboratively created resolutions to their serious divorce issues. Readers can learn more about these and other services online through the firm’s divorce mediation web page.