Divorce can be a painful and expensive process. The more you and your ex fight, the more emotional you may both become and the more expensive the end of your marriage could eventually be.
An increasing number of couples divorce thing in California choose mediation to resolve major disagreements about property division and custody arrangements outside of court. Although mediation is not perfect for every couple, it can be a good solution for a broad range of circumstances.
The three signs below are all indicators that divorce mediation could be useful in your circumstances.
You want to address misconduct in the divorce
Do you believe that your ex’s bad behavior should have an influence on custody, property division or support matters? If so, you need to be able to discuss those issues openly.
Doing so in court will make that misconduct part of the public record, which both of you may want to avoid for obvious reasons. However, California mediation is typically confidential and can allow you to address those matters without compromising privacy.
You worry about the effect on your children
Divorce can be hard on the kids. Even if parents don’t fight bitterly, kids may hear things that change their perception of their parents in divorce court. They can also internalize the stress of needing to speak in court or state a preference to a judge about custody matters.
When you resolve custody issues and property division concerns outside of court, your kids won’t need to make any sort of statement to a judge or in a courtroom, thereby significantly reducing how stressed they feel about the divorce proceedings.
You would prefer to keep costs as low as possible
Mediation may seem like a way to make divorce more expensive. After all, you need to bring in another professional in addition to your individual lawyers.
However, successful mediation will minimize how much time you spend in court and can therefore mean that the total cost for your divorce is much lower than in litigated divorces.
Although some couples, like those with a very uneven power dynamic or a history of abuse, would not necessarily be good candidates for mediation, many families realize that solving issues outside of court is a good approach. Learning more about divorce mediation can lead to a more controlled and calm divorce.