Divorce with Children

Same for Legal Separation with Children

Divorce via Mediation with Children

Divorce Mediation when there are minor children from the marriage creates a significant need for comprehensive agreements that balance parent’s rights to participate in the development of their children, what’s in the children’s best interests, what is financially fair, and all while investing in Respect and Concession so you minimize the lasting divorce related wounds for the children.

The Mediator will lay out the path to achieve all of these important concerns and all while maintaining efficiency with time and money.

The rough process is as follows:

Parenting Plan Mediation
Financial Disclosures and Research
Financials Mediation
Document Preparation
Court Filing
Court Acceptance of Agreement
Final Court Order/Decree

The Mediator will guide the parties through each step in detail, supporting them fully, and keep the parties on track overall.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can't we do our own documentation?

Yes and No. It’s not a good idea to have a party to the negotiation, or their Attorney, draft the final agreements due to conflict of interest, possible misinterpretation, and in the case of Parties doing their own documents, costly mistakes in how the terms are documented.

If both Parties agree, they may of course have a third party prepare the documents, but great care should be taken to ensure the completeness and accuracy of the negotiated terms are properly recorded and satisfactory to Both Parties.

Can you handle complex or non standard parenting schedules?

Absolutely! We have successfully negotiated lots of parenting plans and sharing of time with the children for service members (Thank you for your service and sacrifice!), firefighter Kelly days, parents living in different states, dynamic schedules with absolutely no patterns to them, and even schedules when one parent has 2nd shift and the other parent has 3rd shift. We have not been stumped or surprised and unable to help come up with something that works in non-standard situations.

I have also helped Parties with phased plans that automatically shift into the new parenting schedule at predetermined times. For example we can have Plan A that is effective immediately, Plan B which kicks in when the other Party secures adequate housing, and Plan C when the Child(ren) start Kindergarten.

Can you handle complex and high income situations?

Yes! I have had many high income high worth cases, even a few billionaires, and we have addressed the confusion that can come from complex real estate development, bonds, investments, start-ups, prenuptial agreements and beneficiary of trust situations.

When there are specific questions or challenges for tax planning for example, we work well with Tax Attorneys and Financial Advisors to make sure they understand the contemplated negotiation and the resulting advice is correctly represented in the Court Papers, or MOU.

Service Snapshot

Typical Fees

$950/each

More About Mediation Fees

Typical Duration

4 1/2 months (includes 3 months court time)

More About Length of Mediation

Typical Mediation Hours

6 to 7 hours

More About Mediation Hours

Topics Covered

Parenting Time/Custody
Parental Decision-Making
Parenting After Divorce Class
Children’s Expenses
Child Support
Financial Disclosures
Non-Marital Property
Allocation of Assets/Debts
Monthly Budget Modeling
Spousal Maintenance/Alimony
Taxes/Withholding
Court Process
Court Papers