Not every divorce has to involve a bitter battle between former spouses. Some couples want to divorce amicably and avoid difficult divorce drama. If you and your spouse are ending your marriage and you want to keep your divorce civil, you may want to consider divorce mediation.
In divorce mediation, couples use a mediator and work through their divorce together. The mediator helps them focus on their areas of disagreement and find solutions to resolve those. This route has a lot of advantages over a traditional divorce, including these five benefits:
- Divorce mediation often is less expensive than a traditional divorce. You don’t negotiate your divorce in court, which always is more costly. You can avoid extra meetings and communication with attorneys, which is expensive too.
- Opting for a mediator is often faster than a traditional divorce. You and your spouse can settle your divorce in about two months with mediation. A traditional divorce can take six months to a year to resolve.
- You and your spouse have more control of your divorce settlement. You aren’t leaving any details of your divorce up to a judge to decide. You and your spouse come to agreement about the details of your divorce.
- It can help establish a stronger co-parenting relationship for couples with children. Divorce mediation helps you and your spouse learn to communicate better and negotiate, both important aspects of co-parenting after divorce.
- This practice is more private. The details of your divorce don’t become public record, so the only people who know the details of your divorce are your spouse and your mediator.
This holistic approach is often a good choice when couples want to be proactive and want more ownership of the divorce process. If you want what’s best for your family and to move forward more quickly, you might want to choose mediation over a traditional divorce.
