Massachusetts Certified Divorce Mediator
Divorce Mediation: A Cost Effective Option in Massachusetts Divorce
No matter how you look at it, divorce is costly. The income that once paid the bills for one household must now cover two. Given the expenses you will soon face, why spend your valuable money and time fighting in Massachusetts divorce court if you can, with a little help, arrive at a mutually acceptable agreement through divorce mediation.
I'm Wilfred C. Driscoll, Jr. a Fall River, MA divorce lawyer who is also a certified and experienced divorce mediator. I can be hired by divorcing couples themselves in order to get the issues of divorce resolved with a minimum of cost and time. In some cases, I can also be appointed by the court to act as a conciliator to settle part of a divorce dispute in advance of a trial.
The Benefits of Divorce Mediation
- Divorce mediation saves money: Divorce mediation can easily save 50 percent or more in the cost of your divorce when compared to taking your case to court.
- Divorce mediation saves time: A mediated divorce can be completed within a few months (or less). At this time, a contested divorce can take more than a year to get to trial.
- Divorce mediation generally results in greater satisfaction: The trial process is an adversarial process that inevitably causes hard feelings and possibly lasting hurt and anger that can stand in the way of cooperative parenting of children. The goal of mediation is to reach agreement, not to gain the upper hand. While difficult things may be said, more often than not the process is civil. And people are usually far happier with the outcome of a case they agreed upon than one imposed on them by a judge.
Any issue in divorce can be mediated – child custody and parenting plans, an increase in child support over what is required by law, spousal support and the division of marital property. Because the couple has a great deal more control in a mediation process, things can be decided in mediation that would not interest a family court judge but which are very important for that particular family.
When Divorce Mediation is Not the Answer
While mediation works for the majority of people who choose it, it is not right for everyone. First, both people must agree that they want to resolve their differences. If one party simply wants to fight, mediation cannot work.
Mediation also requires that the two parties are honest. If you suspect that your former partner is lying, hiding assets or engaging on other dishonest dealings, you would do better to take your case to divorce court where you have access to the process of legal "discovery" (witnesses and documents can be subpoenaed to uncover the facts).
Mediation may not be appropriate if there is a tremendous power differential between the two parties, such as when there has been domestic abuse or when one party has kept the other party in the dark about financial matters. If you are interested in mediation but this describes your marriage, talk to me about whether mediation can provide adequate protection for your interests or whether your case would be best handled in court.
Contact Massachusetts Divorce Mediation Lawyer Wilfred C. Driscoll, Jr.
You don't have to spend your money letting lawyers fight it out. Mediation is an effective option in most divorce cases. Call (508) 672-8718 or email Driscoll Sanford Family Law. to learn more. I offer payment plans and flat-fee pricing for some legal matters.
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