While more and more people in Santa Rosa, San Jose, Santa Clara, San Francisco, Walnut Creek, Fresno, CA, and the surrounding areas are hearing about divorce mediation services, they don’t always get the full information about how it works. At Sugarman & Company LLP, we have been providing divorce mediation services for many years, and we even offer a free consultation to see if this might be the right path for your divorce. Most people are familiar with court divorces where lawyers are involved and a lot of paperwork changes hands, and a divorce mediation is quite different from this scenario. Rather than lawyers handling much of the work, the divorcing parties are going to participate in the discussions with the mediator to come to a workable agreement. That doesn’t mean lawyers are never involved, but their involvement is far less than in a normal court divorce. Contact us today to learn more about divorce mediation services.
Misunderstandings with Divorce Mediation
In a court divorce, many times it is the judge that makes a final decision, but this is not the case in a divorce mediation. The mediators themselves will not be making any decisions but instead will facilitate the discussion between the divorcing parties so that they make decisions for the final agreement. Your mediator is also not a lawyer and will not provide legal advice; this is where working with a lawyer can be beneficial, but their involvement is much less and will help to ensure the agreement is legally sound.
One important feature of divorce mediation is that the discussions and agreement are confidential. This is the opposite of a court divorce where the proceedings and judgment are all public in nature. Divorce mediation also isn’t about ‘winning’ but instead working together to come to a mutual agreement on several points that both parties can live with.
Save Your Money for Other Things
While not true in all cases, the majority of divorce mediation agreements end up costing less than a typical court divorce. Part of that is due to the lack of involvement of lawyers, but also because a divorce mediation isn’t about trying to win the fight but instead is more business-like in getting to a workable agreement. The more complex your situation, the more expensive it will be, but this is true for court divorces as well.
Unfortunately, divorces do happen in Santa Rosa, San Jose, Santa Clara, San Francisco, Walnut Creek, Fresno, CA, and the surrounding areas, but they don’t have to turn into public feuds in court. With the help of our experienced team at Sugarman & Company LLP, you can proceed with a divorce mediation and end up with an agreement that all parties can live with. Contact us today to schedule your free consultation to learn more about divorce mediation and if it is right for you.