Maybe you want an amicable divorce in Illinois but you can’t quite reach an agreement with your spouse. If so, perhaps you should consider divorce mediation.
If you want an uncontested divorce but can’t quite reach an agreement, I can mediate your divorce. And as an uncontested divorce lawyer in Illinois, I know what needs to be done.
What is divorce mediation?
Divorce mediation is a process by which a neutral third-party, the mediator, assists parties in coming to a mutual agreement. A mediator does not take the side of either party, but instead, can assist parties in reaching their own agreement.
If you can successfully mediator your divorce, you might be able to avoid a contested divorce. For more about the benefits of that, see my article titled, “Contested versus uncontested divorce: The differences.”
When is divorce mediation necessary?
If parties want to handle most of their divorce out of court, but are having trouble reaching agreement on their own, divorce mediation might be appropriate.
Many of my uncontested divorce clients do not use mediation. Those clients pretty much agreed to everything, then they hire me as a lawyer to formalize the marital settlement agreement and to handle the matter with the court.
When is divorce mediation wrong?
If one party is negotiating in bad faith, mediation may not be for you. As a divorce lawyers, I have handled cases where one party has absconded with a child, and cases that involved false accusations of rape. Cases like that aren’t really appropriate for mediation, in my opinion.
Why engage in divorce mediation?
If parties are not in agreement in almost of their divorce, divorce mediation can be a cost-effective alternative to divorce. If the parties both go to their own lawyers, the lawyers may encourage the parties to fight in order to line their own pockets. Not all lawyers are happy handling uncontested divorces like I am.
When parties mediation, they do pay a mediator, but they can often avoid each paying their own attorneys to duke it out in court to eventually reach an agreement that they could have reached on their own.
If we mediation, do we need lawyers?
It can be useful to have a lawyer after mediation. The lawyer will represent you, not just be a neutral third-party.
However, if I serve as a mediator, I cannot be either party’s lawyer. But after a successful mediation I can make a referral to an affordable, mediation-friendly lawyer.