Our staff is asked regularly whether we think that divorce mediation is a tool that can help individual families navigate divorce. It is very common to wonder if mediation can truly help resolve what is likely the most significant conflict of your life. Maybe your relationship is particularly complex, high in emotion and conflict or maybe you anticipate difficult resolving issues around custody. These are all very normal concerns about the divorce process and the team at Johnson Mediation can answer your specific questions and give you an idea of what to expect if you move forward with divorce mediation.
Effectiveness of Divorce Mediation over Litigation
Divorce mediation can work in virtually every divorce case, unless there is the potential for domestic violence. In fact, the Minnesota courts are so confident in the effectiveness of divorce mediation for the majority of cases that it actually requires that all couples try mediation (or another alternative dispute resolution tool) before bringing their case to the court. So, the courts have every confidence that mediation can work for you. The staff at Johnson Mediation brings professional expertise and personal experience to help our clients find solutions for the most complex and conflict driven divorces.
One thing that is important to highlight is that divorce mediation actually reduces the overall conflict between two parties. Your mediator will guide mediation sessions that can tackle issues like how to divide your joint property in a fair and equitable way, how to develop a parenting plan and/or custody agreement that puts your children first, and determining whether or not spousal maintenance or child support is needed in your specific case given your income and work experience. Reducing the conflict puts you on a better path toward faster resolution with less stress for you and your children.
Minnesota Divorce Mediation Services
However, when you hire attorneys and go through the traditional court system, you can generally expect for the conflict between parties to increase. You lose control and leave the decisions in the hands of a judge (rather than making these important decisions yourself) and your case takes much longer to resolve, taking more emotional and financial resources. In addition, when things come up after your litigated divorce, you may still feel the increased conflict between you and your ex, making it much more difficult to resolve future issues.
The bottom line is that divorce mediation is ideal for the vast majority of families that are going through a divorce. For more information or to speak with a member of our staff, call Johnson Mediation at 952-401-7599.
