Focusing on your Future after Divorce
The divorce process is all consuming and likely is the culmination of many months or years of high conflict and unhappiness. Once you make the decision to divorce, it can be difficult to see past the process, as the divorce process itself can take many months, especially if you go through the courts. Johnson Mediation offers an alternative to this model of a long, drawn-out process. Divorce mediation allows you to see past the divorce process to your future. Focusing on your future and your family, rather than the pain of your past can give you the strength you need to take those final steps through the process.
There are countless divorce statistics that you can find online if you do a quick search: Nearly 50% of marriages end in divorce. Over 40% of first marriages end in divorce. Based on data from the US Census, both marriages and divorces are down in the US. Nevada has the highest divorce rate and Illinois has the lowest divorce rate among US states
The length of the divorce process varies widely. Because every divorce is unique and filled with individual issues and concerns, the length of time to finalize a divorce depends in part on the complexity of those issues and how open both parties are to achieving fair resolution. One thing that is worth considering is that choosing to settle the terms of your divorce with mediation can dramatically reduce the time it takes to finalize a divorce. You may wonder why mediation takes less time than proceeding through the courts…
Deciding to divorce is never easy, but many couples struggle with finding the best time to separate and move toward divorce, given their unique circumstances. Divorce does not happen overnight and is a process that can take months if not longer, so thinking about timing can be beneficial. Some factors to consider when you are thinking about the timing of your divorce include the following:
Was the main driver in your decision to divorce related to intense conflict, anger, and fighting in your marriage? Did you feel like you and your partner could not agree on anything and fought about even the smallest issues? If you have decided to divorce after high levels of conflict in your marriage, you may assume that your only option is to proceed through the court system. However, litigation can actually make the conflict even worse. The foundation of litigation is winning or losing. You end up fighting hard and battling over issues like dividing property, child custody and spousal support.
The sun is hot. Water is wet. Day follows night. There are some statements in life that are so obvious that stating them at all seems unnecessary. The statement, “divorce is difficult,” also fits into this category. However, the reality is that there is nothing that can be done to change the heat of the sun, the wetness of water, or the coming of a new day. There IS something that can be done about the difficulty of divorce and all it takes is a phone call or a few clicks on a computer keyboard to reduce the difficulty of divorce. Johnson Mediation provides divorce mediation services, and we have helped many couples reduce
