7 Reasons to Divorce Through Mediation

 Posted on January 01, 2017 in Divorce

When you and your spouse decide that divorce is the right thing to do, your next discussion must be about how you want to move forward with the process. If you and your spouse work together well and are on the same page as to what you both want from the end of your marriage, then mediation may work for you. Mediation enables you and your spouse to:

• Decide how to divide your marital assets, including future retirement benefits
• Decide whether spousal maintenance is appropriate, how much, and for how long
• Allocate parenting responsibilities and time

7 Reasons to Divorce Through Mediation

The mediation process offers a calm and effective environment to decide the issues of your divorce between the two of you and outside of an adversarial courtroom. There are numerous benefits to mediation, including:

1. Retaining Control: During an adversarial divorce, the issues of spousal support, parenting responsibilities and time, child support, property division and others are often handed over to a judge. You and your attorneys can argue for what you believe is fair, but the final decision is out of your hands. Instead, you can utilize mediation to discuss the relevant issues and determine the final results. Through multiple mediation sessions, you and your spouse can discuss what each of you and your children need and come to a fair and reasonable agreement.
2. Improved Customization: When your divorce and its related issues are in a judge’s hands, you will likely end up with a divorce judgment that reflects Illinois law’s suggestions or what is simply common in your local family court system. However, what is suggested or common may not be the best outcome for you and your children. Through negotiating your divorce settlement directly with your spouse, you can come to an agreement that may be unusual, but the best for you and your family.
3. Maintaining a Positive Attitude: Communicating only through lawyers and consistently attending hearings may create additional stress and make a divorce more contentious than it needs to be. Instead, you and your spouse can attend mediation sessions where you both have the chance to speak and talk through what you need and want from this process. This can be therapeutic as well as productive. It can help you maintain a positive attitude about this change in your life.
4. It Is Best for the Children: An adversarial divorce can make the already hard transition for children even more difficult. Children may witness their parents having to go court to settle their differences, which can cause stress and hinder the children’s relationships with their parents. Mediation can present children with a different picture, one where their parents work through their problems together.
5. Enhanced Privacy: Divorce proceedings and their accompanying paperwork are public record unless your attorney takes proactive steps to protect your privacy and have the records sealed. When issues like maintenance and child parenting time are determined by a judge, these decisions become available to the public. However, by deciding the major issues through mediation, sensitive topics in final divorce settlement can remain private. Your entire agreement can be incorporated by reference in the final decree instead of becoming a public document.
6. Faster Resolution: A traditional adversarial divorce can take months or even years when you and your spouse continuously argue over the issues or appeal a judge’s decisions. Mediation can take time, depending on how many sessions you and your spouse attend. However, when you and your spouse work together well, it can be a much faster way to settle all of the outstanding issues.
7. Reduced Costs: The more you and your spouse are in and out of the courtroom, the more expensive your divorce will be. You will have to pay fees every time your lawyer must prepare for and attend court. By going through mediation, you can take up less of your attorney’s time while still receiving all of the accurate legal advice and strategy you need to negotiate a fair settlement.

Contact a Chicago Divorce Attorney Today

If mediation might be right for you and your spouse, call the experienced divorce attorneys of Fay, Farrow & Associates, P.C. at 630-961-0060. We can provide additional information on how mediation works and represent you through your divorce.