Suffolk County Divorce Law
Mediation is a viable alternative to the costly and emotional process of traditional, adversarial legal representation where the parties battle out all of their issues in court. The mediation process is an inexpensive method in comparison to other divorce methods. As the mediation process is generally faster and the parties are able to save money due to the fact that there are no court appearances involved and there is less ancillary paperwork, which in turn reduces legal fees. Additionally, the parties only pay for the cost of one mediator, as opposed to two separate attorneys with one for each individual spouse.
MEDIATION IN NEW YORK
In New York State, a growing number of divorces are resolved through the mediation process. Divorce mediation is a process where divorcing couples voluntarily collaborate with a trained mediator to negotiate and resolve all of their issues without the traditional, adversarial process of obtaining a divorce through the court system. If you and your spouse are capable of maintaining a respectful and constructive exchange of communication, mediation may be the appropriate option for you.
We know this is a challenging time and we are here to make it easier for you.
The Suffolk County Divorce Attorney’s here are certified mediators who can help you obtain a reasonable agreement between you and your spouse by acting as a neutral third party. The mediator does not make any decisions for you or your spouse, but rather helps you make sure that your final divorce agreement is in accordance with the law and that the agreement is written properly as to avoid your agreement being modified or vacated in the future. If your agreement is not properly drafted, it is likely that you will have significant issues in the future wherein your spouse may have the agreement held to be invalid by the Court or certain portions of the agreement may be deemed by the Court to be unenforceable. This is one of the many reasons it is so important to have one of our experienced attorneys on your side to ensure that all of the paperwork is filled out properly, and not subject to future modification or invalidation.
The mediator facilitates communication between the parties and will help you and your spouse appropriately evaluate all of your options available under New York State law. One of our experienced and knowledgeable mediators will assist with the negotiation process between you and your spouse on all relevant issues including custody, visitation, the division of property, child support, and spousal maintenance. The attorneys here have been very successful in helping spouses come to a reasonable resolution of all relevant issues swiftly and amicably through the mediation process throughout their decades of practice.
The mediation process is much simpler than the drawn-out battle of a contested divorce and through mediation, our attorneys will help you and your spouse work out arrangements for child custody and visitation that will work well into the future. It is more likely that both parties will be satisfied with their final divorce agreement after the mediation process due to the fact that the settlement is based on the cooperation of both parties, rather than a judge’s arbitrary ruling.
WHY MEDIATION?
Mediation provides an opportunity to find reasonable and realistic resolutions to all of the issues pertaining to your divorce. Throughout mediation, the parties are in the best position to make the decisions for themselves that will have long term financial and personal consequences on their lives. Each situation is unique and the attorneys at Zimmer, Mathiesen & Associates are extremely adept at figuring out a reasonable resolution that works for you, your spouse, and your children in your own unique situation. The attorneys at our firm are more than capable of coming up with creative ways of resolving difficult situations when the parties reach an impasse on one issue or several issues involved in their divorce.
PROS & CONS
PRO: Often a less costly
alternative; Can often be a less
adversarial process; When it
works, a quicker process.
CON: The mediator does not
represent you or your spouse, So
they are not there to assist you
with strategy or to make sure you
get the best deal possible. In fact
the mediator can only talk to both
parties together, not one on one.
Although most cases settle, the
compromises in mediation may
be far greater than having your
own attorney.
We a compassionate family law firm, specialized in divorce in Suffolk County sensitive to the needs of children. If you or anyone you know is going through divorce, feel free to contact us. We work closely with many local therapists, specialized in adjustment after separation to help make divorce easier. Click here to get directions to our law office.
