Divorce Mediation is the method by which marriage partners settle their divorce case and avoid the costly divorce court process.

Why Divorce Mediation instead of Divorce Litigation?

Divorce mediation is cost-effective, saving the family tens of thousands of dollars and has less emotional conflict between marriage partners. Divorce mediation is a confidential legal process versus the open records process of divorce court.

Empowering partners with what they are entitled to is very important PRIOR to the mediation session, so that they may enter the mediation session with a clear understanding of what will be discussed.

Divorce Mediators cannot give financial or legal advice in their role as an impartial neutral helping spouses reach settlement terms.

Once the partners are prepared, a mediation session is scheduled and the spouses will work through a comprehensive template of settlement matters to be discussed.

Spouses may choose to bring Divorce Attorneys to the mediation session or not. It is not appropriate for family members or friends to attend a divorce mediation session.

Yes, a Divorce Mediation can be conducted with spouses in separate rooms, with the Divorce Mediator shuttling back and forth between spouses if they cannot be together in the same room.

A mediated divorce process (if it is thorough and comprehensive and includes properly preparing spouses) will cost a family on average $5,000-$8,000 (which includes 2 attorneys representing the spouses) versus a litigated divorce process which will cost $50,000++.

Who pays for the divorce mediation sessions is an item you will discuss and decide within the mediation session. Options might include one spouse pays for it all, both spouses split the costs evenly (50/50) or spouses contribute to the costs based on the percentage of individual income they contribute to the family.

How long does Divorce Mediation take?

Most couples, when properly prepared can complete a divorce settlement in one mediation session within 3-4 hours.

The mediation divorce process takes 2-4 months to complete the settlement terms and file the settlement documents with the appropriate county and 1-3 months for the county to convert the divorce filing into a final divorce decree.

Official Divorce Mediators have completed a series of trainings specific to Superior Court divorce criterion within the state they are operating in and are officially registered under their state office of dispute resolution. (Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution).

Are Divorce Mediators Lawyers?

Some registered mediators are lawyers, some are not. Registered Divorce Mediators when functioning in the capacity as a divorce mediator cannot administer legal advice or advocate for one party or another, they must remain in a neutral capacity when mediating a divorce.

Divorce mediation is not marriage counseling, it is the negotiation of divorce settlement terms, however divorce mediation can help greatly minimize the emotional conflict between spouses to enhance familial co-parenting relations post-divorce.

If your spouse has simply suggested divorce mediation over divorce court litigation, you can refuse to participate in mediation (but why would you if it could save you $$,$$$ and a lot of unnecessary emotional anguish).

If you have an open court case and you are ordered by a Judge to try to mediate a settlement, and you refuse to try to mediate, then you may be held in contempt of the Judge’s orders and there could be costly $$$$ legal consequences for you.

The Divorce Mediator will prepare a formalized document outlining your agreement and that document is given to Divorce Attorneys to convert to official settlement filing documents to be filed with the appropriate county.

Yes, you may choose to litigate your divorce in divorce court. The average litigated divorce case takes 18 months and costs $50,000 or more.

For more information visit our family advocacy website www.DivorceMediationCenter.org