Divorce mediation is an excellent alternative to traditional divorce litigation. Mediation typically costs less, works faster, allows complete customization of your settlement, reduces conflict, and teaches negotiation skills you can use throughout your life. As great as divorce mediation is, it isn’t successful in every case. So what do you do when it doesn’t work?
The first course of action is to talk to your attorney. You may have reached agreement on some components of your settlement and if you have, that will save you time and money no matter where you go from here. Even if mediation has only resulted in agreement on a temporary basis, you still have a great place to start.
You may want to try working with another mediator. Even though divorce mediators are neutral third parties, each is an individual with unique skillsets and approaches. Talk with your attorney about what was not working for you in the process and he or she may be able to recommend a different mediator. Sometimes, even simply making the change to a new location and a slightly different procedure can be enough to jumpstart the process.
Consider other alternative dispute resolution options, such as collaborative divorce. In this process, you and your ex each work with a collaboratively trained lawyer. In collaborative divorce, the lawyers and clients agree not to begin litigation in court until a complete settlement of all issues is reached. Having a collaborative lawyer advocating for you and offering possible solutions may bring you to a resolution quickly and give you that extra assistance you need to bring things to a close.
You can always return to the litigated divorce process if these alternatives fail. Most divorces settle before trial and it is possible that the groundwork you laid in mediation will allow yours to settle quickly through this process.
DeTorres & DeGeorge provides divorce mediation and collaborative divorce representation, as well as traditional divorce representation. Call us now.