 In addition to his litigation practice, Attorney Summers works with spouses to settle their divorce through mediation, an increasingly popular way to resolve divorce issues in a less adversarial manner. In divorce mediation, rather than both parties going to court and using a trial to resolve divorce issues, the parties sit down with a neutral third party, called "a mediator." The mediator helps both individuals come to a solution agreed upon by both parties
Divorce mediation offers many advantages to a couple working through a divorce. Mediation almost always takes less time than litigating a divorce, especially for those couples who haven’t worked everything out in advance of the divorce. Divorce mediation also helps spouses tell each other what they want, without lawyers speaking for them or telling them what they should do. Mediators can help focus couples on present issues, rather than bringing up hurts from the past that can be unproductive in reaching an agreement. Another benefit to mediation is that it is private, unlike a court case.
Divorce mediation is not for everyone. If couples are behaving too poorly around each other to work together in the same room, mediation may not be the best bet. Some couples are dealing with spousal abuse or substance abuse. In those situations, it’s probably best for an attorney to speak on each spouse’s behalf. If you are interested in learning more about divorce mediation, contact Summers Family Law today.
|