There is a LOT of Free information the Mediator can share and you are encouraged to have the Mediator cover these important topics with you.
The Mediator cannot give Legal Advice but will be happy to answer all your questions and assist you in any way possible. There is NO COST and there is NO OBLIGATION to schedule with the Mediator. I hear from my clients that I am the only one offering this amount and quality of information for no cost. The idea is to give you as much information as you need to feel comfortable so you won’t be anxious about the process.
With most clients if we meet before anything is filed with the Court the Mediator can suggest an approach to limit your visits to the Court to an absolute minimum, without compromising any quality. It seems to this Mediator based on the many hundreds of clients who gave feedback that many legal providers work to make the process last just long enough to extract all the liquid marital assets from the marriage before the Court issues the Final Decree. Many have come directly from other Mediators and Family Lawyers and were not told how potentially easy this could be for them. The Mediator can share with you these “Short Path” options during the Free Consultation.
This Mediator can present a strategy that reduces the stress and anxiety of the process and allows you to focus on real concerns. This has many benefits that aren’t really expressed to couples unfortunately. One key benefit is that you can work through all the important decisions surrounding parenting time, parenting decision-making, spousal maintenance, child support, etc without a looming deadline. I have seen that Lawyers like these looming deadlines because it puts some pressure on clients to make a decision. The fear I suppose is that the clients won’t ever decide, or drag things out. The real fear should be making a hasty decision with long lasting consequences.
Another disruptive factor that is little talked about is that the longer cases stay active in the Courts, the more fractured they can become. Decisions that seemed easy to make two months ago soon change when unexpected bills are incurred before there is an agreement on how to handle those things. What happens is then that one party will start the leverage things by threatening to “Start over from scratch” if their new need isn’t immediately accommodated. Anyway, this can all be easily avoided, if there were your goal, and the Mediator can explain to you.
The main objective of the Consultation is to educate you on how the court process works and how the mediation will be structured so you can see how it fits together. Clients say it’s comforting to understand how the process works, and how the process will ensure everything will be fair. Clients seem to be a little more patient and agreeable to creative solutions when they are not fearful and anxious. That is our goal together..To take the Fear and Expense out of Divorce.
What is really amazing is that it usually takes only one hour for all this to take place. As Divorce Practitioners, Mediators and Lawyers if you think about it, are all in the business of selling information and dependency. The longer you can be dependent, the more you can make in this field. I prefer to be in the business of selling peace, wisdom, independence, empowerment, solutions, and humbly valuing things in their proper context. I believe this limits my income quite a bit, but it enriches me beyond measure to know I’ve helped clients become better parents, or better citizens, family members, and made the world a little better place. Sounds corny, but it’s really what I believe.
Take advantage of my unique personal value system and walk away richer not only financially, but in many other ways too.