What Is Divorce Mediation and Is It Right for Me?

divorce mediation

At Lyons & Associates, because our practice is devoted to family law, we always strive to complete your Divorce in the most efficient way possible. Often times, that includes Mediation.

Divorce Mediation can be a very powerful tool to resolve your family law issues. There are certain benefits to Mediation, including reducing legal costs, avoiding litigation, and keeping things as amicable as possible between the parties. But there are some drawbacks too, especially in cases where one party may be hiding assets or is not proceedings in good faith.

In order for mediation to be effective, we at Lyons & Associates have found that three critical factors must be present:

  1. There must be a balance of power between the spouses. If one spouse is afraid of the other, or if there is a history of domestic violence between the parties, then mediation will not work because one party may wrongly dominate the other in discussions.
  2. There must be full, open, and honest disclosure of all marital assets. If one party is hiding money or assets, the other spouse and the mediator will not be able to find the hidden assets because the mediator does not have the power to subpoena documents directly from banks or other financial institutions. An attorney can issue such subpoenas.
  3. There must be a willingness to compromise by both parties. If one party digs in his/her heels and refuses to bend, then mediation will not work because no real compromises can be struck.

So long as the above three factors are present, mediation can and does work, and the attorneys at Lyons & Associates have helped hundreds of clients through the mediation process. But if any of the above three factors is missing, then you should be careful about entering into mediation, and you need to consider other options..

Call a skilled family law attorney at Lyons & Associates at 908-575-9777, or fill out our online intake form. We can talk to you more about mediation, whether it is right for you and your family, and what all of your options are should mediation not be right for you.