Alternatives to Traditional Divorce Process
Litigation is widely known as the traditional divorce process. In fact, many people assume that once you decide to divorce your spouse, you will need to go through the court system in order to settle the terms of your divorce. Fortunately, this is actually not the case. Minnesota courts actually strongly recommend that all couples try a form of an alternative dispute resolution INSTEAD of the traditional divorce process because of long scheduling delays, unnecessary legal expenses and the courts just not being able to keep up with all of the cases.
Alternative dispute resolution can come in many forms, including divorce mediation, neutral evaluations and other support services
The first question that we get asked by many of our clients is whether Minnesota requires couples to go through the court system to settle the terms of a divorce. The answer is a definitive no. In fact, the Minnesota courts and judges actually encourage couples to try mediation before proceeding through the court litigation process. Divorce mediation has distict advantages of a tradional court divorce. Other states have started to follow the Minnesota couts lead by recommending and in some cases require couples try divorcde mediation first.
If you and your family have gone through a divorce over the last few months, you may have a parenting plan in place that outlines how your kids spend their time. Whether this has worked well or needs to be adjusted a bit, summer is often a time that requires some flexibility and potentially changes to a custody agreement. Vacations, changes in day care/school schedule depending on your kids age can turn a schedule that is currently working upside down. Don’t let this stress you out – the staff at Johnson Mediation can help you navigate any changes that you need.
Mediation is an ideal tool to resolve the terms of your divorce and allow your family to move forward in the most positive and healthy way possible. Mediation has many benefits over litigation including a significantly lower cost, less time required, faster outcome and a better chance for long term success. Mediation empowers both parties to negotiate from equal positions, find common ground and illustrate to the children that compromise is possible. Mediation works well even for divorces with high conflict and the court system also encourages all couples to try it before going through the court system.
Divorce may not be something you have spent time planning (or hoping) for, and when you and your spouse decide that your marriage cannot survive, you may feel overwhelmed with emotion and with all of the things that must be done. The emotional and logistical aspects of a divorce can leave you unsure how to move forward. The staff at Johnson Mediation understands how difficult a divorce can be for you and your family. We have developed a divorce planning checklist to give you some guidance about how to take those first steps right away and how to stay on track so that you can move forward with your life.
No one enters a marriage hoping that the outcome will be divorce. Of course, our hopes and dreams for our marriage are quite the opposite. And, if you find yourself in that spot and you need to move ahead with a divorce, it can be extremely stressful, complicated and overwhelming. The team at Johnson Mediation understands the process well and can help you with each and every step of your divorce, so that you can focus on healing and moving forward and not get so bogged down in the process.
If you have recently been through a divorce, you may realize now that just because the divorce papers have been signed, there are still issues you need to be able to resolve with your ex. While you may wish this was not the case, it is the case for nearly every single divorced couple…especially if you have children. So, you may wonder how to manage these issues when they come up and we are here to help. Johnson Mediation offers post-divorce mediation that can help resolve all types of issues after you are divorced in a fair and productive way, without increasing conflict. Here are some tips from our team that can help
If you are curious about the concept of parenting consulting and want to learn more about the process, Johnson Mediation can help. A Parenting Consultant (PC) works with families to help them navigate issues related to parenting time (also known as visitation), differences in parenting styles, approach to discipline, schedules, education as well as interests and activities of the child or children. It is important to understand that a parenting consultant does not address issues related to custody or finances. A parenting consultant can be chosen by a couple or the court, depending on the situation.
Hiring a divorce mediator is a really important decision as you move ahead with your separation and divorce. A divorce mediator can help you settle the terms of your divorce, including developing your parenting plan, dividing your joint property, and deciding whether you need to think about spousal maintenance or child support. It is critical to establish a strong connection with your mediator and feel like you can be open and honest and ask the questions that are on your mind. Your mediator’s primary goal is to help you find common ground with your ex in order to find a path forward to your future
