Difference between Joint Custody and Sole Custody
If your divorce has created questions about custody of your children, Johnson Mediation can help you. Custody can be a very complex aspect of divorce, and to feel confident about how you answer the questions pertaining to it, you should make sure that you have a qualified, competent advocate on your side, like the team at Johnson Mediation.
There are some important differences between joint custody and sole custody. Those differences go beyond the simple definitions that joint custody means sharing the custodial responsibilities with your former spouse and sole custody means you bear that responsibility alone. Legal custody means that you are responsible for making key decisions about your children’s lives. Such decisions can involve health care, school-related decisions, where you and your children will live, counseling, and faith-related traditions.
Unmarried couples who share children can make their own agreements for important issues such as child support, child custody and visitation. Whether you are married or not, when children are involved, it is critically important to make sure that plans are in place that put your kids’ well-being first. Communication during a separation is very often strained, so investing in mediation sessions may be a productive way to handle many issues related to your split – including how to handle child support agreements. Johnson Mediation focuses on helping families through these difficult transitions by facilitating positive and productive communication that result in workable solutions for all involved.
Because you may not have ever expected to be in the midst of a divorce, you may never have given much thought to the various options for settling a divorce. We are all aware of the statistic that approximately 50% of marriages end in divorce, but when we said our vows and pondered a future, divorce was simply not in the picture. So, if you have found yourself in a situation in which divorce looks like your reality, you might need some help and support to navigate the process.
When you are going through a divorce, you can expect to need significant support from family, friends, loved ones, and co-workers. In addition to getting this important support from your social network, it can be extremely helpful to also seek support from professionals who are experienced with the process of divorce and can help you navigate this difficult time. A therapist or counselor can offer specific support that might be especially useful and a divorce coach can provide support and guidance when you need it most. This individual divorce support can help you more clearly see your path forward.
Johnson Mediation serves many communities in the state, and if you are in need of Parenting coaching services for any reason, Johnson Mediation has the professional expertise and mediation training to help you. Divorce is difficult and if you have children, this difficulty can continue even after the divorce papers have been signed. You and your ex-spouse have to find a way to work together to parent for many years after your divorce. This can present many challenges, particularly as it relates to open and easy communication strategies. This is one area where a parenting coach can help.
Most divorcing couples assume that disputes over divorces must be decided in Court by a Judge, but family disputes are ideally settled between family members before they reach a courtroom. Mediation settlements are better than going to court for many reasons. Mediation settlements are likely to be more satisfactory in the long run because the solution is mutually-agreeable, and has been proven to be more satisfactory in past surveys in the United States. The mediator can model and facilitate better communication that may continue after mediation, the lines of communication are extremely important and need to continue to be open if you have children together. Attorneys often can be very helpful in settling disputes out of court. But when they are in court the decision process is out of the best interest of the couple and is ultimately decided by a judge after sometimes a lethal fight. When children are involved with divorce and separation, the stakes are even higher. Mediation allows control to remain in the hands of the parents, not the Court.
Any separation is difficult, but when there’s a child involved and you’re unmarried, it can be particularly stressful and challenging to begin separating from your partner. Especially if you and your former partner are no longer on good speaking terms, or if your only conversations end in heated debate, then you may need someone to help you work through the specifics of your separation, particularly where your child is concerned. At Johnson Mediation, we provide Chanhassen, MN mediation for non-married parents who are separating, helping separated couples reach legally equitable agreements about their parenting time and custody, visitation, child support, and division of property that aids in the rearing of the child.
The divorce process can cause a serious financial and emotional strain on both you and your divorcing spouse. The financial cost for a divorce that is settled in the court system can be upwards of $15,000-$20,000 in the state of Minnesota. A significant portion of this cost is spent on attorneys and legal fees. You can actually settle your divorce for less. Divorce mediation offers a much less expensive way to settle the terms of your divorce. Using a mediator generally costs a fraction of the cost and can also be less of an emotional strain on your family. Johnson Mediation offers 
