Divorce mediation: Who is it for?

Has your marriage come to an end? Find out what divorce mediation is, and whether it might be right for you.

Many marriages succeed, but plenty end in divorce as well. Sometimes, the relationship lasts for many years, but eventually, the partners grow apart. Other times, it becomes obvious very quickly that things are not going to work between the individuals involved.

If your relationship has reached an impasse, you may want to look into divorce mediation. You can reach out to a divorce mediation Utah lawyer, but before you do, let’s talk about divorce mediation in detail. We’ll discuss what it is and also who is most likely to benefit from it.

What exactly is divorce mediation?

Divorce mediation is a process that occurs when two married people feel that they’ve come as far in their relationship as possible. They don’t want to have anything further to do with each other.

They will hire an individual, usually a lawyer, who is well-versed in marriage law. That lawyer can act as an arbiter of sorts. The attorney plays the part of a referee while the two partners hash out the details of their upcoming separation and the dissolution of their marriage.

Who usually wants divorce mediation?

The married couples who typically seek out divorce mediation are those who are coming to terms with their marriage ending in a more or less amiable fashion. They’re probably not yelling and screaming at each other during the course of their negotiations.

They might mutually agree to find a lawyer or some other individual who can conduct divorce mediation. They will arrange an appointment, or a series of appointments, during which they will talk over things like child custody and the dividing of their assets and properties.

Who should avoid divorce mediation?

There’s also a category of individuals who probably won’t want to bother with divorce mediation. Those are married couples who are having a particularly contentious end to their marriage.

If there’s a great deal of acrimony between two married people, then it might be obvious that they’re headed toward divorce, but there’s probably going to be a lengthy, drawn-out battle between the two of them. They can probably hardly stand to be in the same room with each other or talk to each other directly.

Frankly, in those situations, divorce mediation is probably a waste of time. That’s because, for this kind of proceeding to be at all effective, both parties must enter into it with some degree of good faith.

If that’s impossible, and every one of the divorce’s details is going to be dissected and argued over, then both sides will likely want to get lawyers and conduct most of their business in family court in front of a judge. They will skip the divorce mediation process, which is fine, since it’s totally optional.

Could divorce mediation be right for you?

If you’re getting divorced, and you feel like both of you can be reasonable as you uncouple, then looking into and paying for divorce mediation makes sense. If emotions boil over every time you two are in close proximity, then you’re going to have to explore other options.