Divorce Mediation Bullet Points (Part 3)

Darren M. Shapiro has been looking back over his experiences in the divorce mediation environment, to create an all-access guide to this complex topic. If you’ve always wanted to learn more about divorce mediation, but you haven’t had the time to go through all the blogs and articles available on this website or our blog, this list, along with the other bullet point lists that we’ve published so far could help you.

• Child custody topics can be addressed in mediation. Mr. Shapiro frequently works with clients to address things like custody arrangements and whether residential custody, shared custody, joint legal custody, or sole custody is the right course for parents.
• Parenting time agreements are also considered in mediation. Aside from making decisions around custody, Mr. Shapiro and his clients can also discuss parenting time arrangements. Sometimes, this involves using open-ended language that allow parents to make further decisions in the best interests of the children at a later date. Mr. Shapiro has worked with clients to create arrangements that use alternate weeks for parenting time. It’s also possible to think about vacation times and special occasions that each parent considers important when spending time with their child.
• Unmarried couples can use divorce mediation for parenting time and custody agreements. Mediation isn’t reserved exclusively for divorcing couples. It is possible for parents who are not married to come to discussions about how to care for children after the end of a relationship happens. This process can be a little different to divorce mediation, but many of the same topics are discussed.
• Couples can discuss college costs when coming to terms about children’s needs in a mediation session. For younger children, there may be an option to leave the issue open to be addressed in the future. It’s also possible to decide whether the money a parent should be expected to contribute towards college funds should be capped at a certain amount. Mr. Darren Shapiro has used mediation discuss which college expenses should be deemed fair too, such as expenses, room and board, and tuition.

Understanding the Mediation Process

Divorce mediation is just one of the process available for couples today that are looking for easy ways to manage their divorce. There are plenty of alternative routes available if you find that divorce mediation isn’t suitable for you, including litigation, negotiation, collaborative law, and more. In mediation, it can be possible to preserve some of the relationship between the couple for the sake of children.

• Many people prefer mediation over litigation, as it allows you to maintain greater control over your divorce. You can negotiate your own agreements about how you would like your life to proceed after your marriage comes to an end. However, a court will ultimately need to approve any agreement made in mediation. The good news is that with the right mediator, like Mr. Shapiro, it is possible to draft an agreement that the court is more likely to approve.
• Mediation can be a more cost-effective way to bring an end to a marriage. A selling point if you’re trying to encourage a partner to consider mediation is that the process is a lot less expensive, and often much faster too. What’s more, the emotional impact of divorce can be lessened through mediation too. Litigation is a more upsetting process for many people who are trying to deal with the end of their marriage as amicably as possible.
• You can switch to mediation at any point during your divorce process. Just because you originally chose litigation as the strategy to bring an end to your marriage, doesn’t mean that you’re necessarily required to stick to that process. If you experience a great deal of pain and discomfort during litigation, then you might find that its’ much easier to simply switch to mediation instead. Litigation can always be something that a couple comes back to if mediation isn’t suitable.

Preparing for Mediation

In some cases, parties can prepare for mediation sessions to improve their chances of success. In an ideal world, divorce cases may go a lot more smoothly if everyone chose to prepare for their sessions with review attorneys to ensure that they cover the right points in their mediation. It’s also possible to de-brief with review attorneys after a mediation is complete.

Mr. Darren Shapiro always recommends that his clients use a review attorney, though not everyone follows through with that suggestion. Other points to remember when preparing for mediation include:

• Mediators can usual special techniques to try and calm relationships with high levels of conflict. For instance, Mr. Shapiro tries to allow each person in the conversation plenty of opportunities to be heard on the topics that they want to discuss.
• People can take breaks from mediation: If a mediation session becomes emotional or heated, it is possible to wait until the next session to come back to the topic, or to take a break and a breather.
• Divorce mediators come from different backgrounds: A divorce mediator can offer services like drafting legal documents to help settle the case when they’re also an attorney, like Mr. Darren Shapiro. Mediators that aren’t also attorneys may require their clients to use attorneys alongside their mediator.

Stay tuned for more insights into the divorce mediation world or contact Mr. Darren M. Shapiro today to find out how to begin your mediation session.