Divorce is often considered to be one of the most traumatic experiences children can have during their developmental years. Your children love both of their parents, and they don’t want to have to decide where they want to live in a custody dispute. They also shouldn’t need to listen to days of testimony while you both air your grievances about the other’s worst behaviors during your marriage.
Deciding to commit to mediation protects your children from the worst fallout of a divorce. It also allows you and your former spouse more control over the final arrangements of your divorce.
Mediation leaves the power with the couple divorcing
When you and your former spouse go through a divorce in court, the final decision on everything relies on a judge’s discretion. Anything from property division to custody and support get decided by a third party, based on their interpretation of evidence presented during the divorce hearings. The end result is often a custody situation that neither party is particularly happy about, instead of one on which you both agree.
Mediation is different. It is also called collaborative divorce. It requires that you and your former spouse sit down with a neutral third party (and possibly your individual attorneys) to discuss the details of your divorce. From custody and visitation to who gets to keep the cabin, mediation allows you both to push for results that work for you. By requiring you both to sit and discuss the details of the divorce, your mediation experience can even help start you on the road to building a healthier relationship, post-divorce.
Mediation protects your children from divorce stress
One of the best things about choosing mediation is that it allows you to protect your children from the details of the divorce. They won’t have to decide whom to live with, testify about anyone’s behavior or listen to stories of their parents’ worst actions. Instead, mediation protects the children from the worst of the stress and emotional damage that comes from divorce. They will get to see their parents cooperating to protect them during the divorce. Mediation can help your children feel safer and less devastated by the dissolution of their family through divorce.
You and your former spouse, along with your attorneys and neutral mediator, will discuss any and all details of custody and asset division in private. Mediation is often much faster than traditional divorce hearings. It can also result in a final divorce arrangement that makes everyone involved feel satisfied with the outcome. If you believe that you and your former spouse can reach a mutually beneficial series of compromises with a little guidance, mediation may be an excellent option for the end of your marriage.