Pre Divorce Decree Mediation

Pre Divorce Decree Mediation

Pre divorce decree mediation still feels like a new idea in some parts of the country, but it’s increasingly well known and widely accepted. During mediation you and your spouse sit down in the same room with a neutral mediator. With the mediator’s help, you would work through all the issues you need to resolve so the two of you can work through your divorce.

Pre divorce decree mediation is flexible and confidential. It gives you and your spouse a way to settle the conflict between you, which is natural and inevitable, in a way that helps you to work together during and after your divorce.

The mediator remains neutral between the husband and the wife. That means the mediator can’t give advice to either party, and also can’t act as a lawyer for either party.

What the mediator can do, though, is to point out in open session things that each spouse should be aware of about what they’re trying to accomplish. That open and free exchange of information allows both spouses to negotiate with each other in confidence. Because both spouses are working with the same base of information, it usually takes far less time to agree upon a resolution that makes sense to both spouses.

Any agreements should be reviewed by your respective attorneys; the mediator cannot give legal advice. The agreement is not final until you both agree, so no one needs to be concerned with being committed to an agreement they are not comfortable with.

Pre divorce decree mediation is voluntary. It continues only for so long as all three of you – you, your spouse, and the mediator — want it to. Your mediator has to have a good reason to withdraw. You or your spouse can withdraw from mediation at any time, for a good reason, a bad reason, or no reason at all.