If your marriage has recently dissolved and you are heading towards a divorce, you already know that you want to take every step necessary to resolve the surrounding issues as quickly as possible. But there is one big question that needs to be answered before you proceed. You’re going to need to ask yourself how you and your spouse will handle the issues in order to come to that desired rapid resolution.
Two words that you will hear mentioned a lot regarding divorce are litigation and mediation. Litigation and mediation are the two most common divorce processes and there are many factors that differentiate the two. Before you proceed any further, it’ll be worth your while to get down to the bottom of what each process entails.
How Open to Communication Are You?
Simply stated, which one you choose will be hinged upon how willing you are to communicate openly regarding decisions that affect yourself, your spouse, and children if you have them. Communication and how open to it you are will end up being the deciding factor in your decision making process.
Litigation
In litigation, you and your spouse will each hire a divorce attorney to gather all of the information surrounding your case. Once all of the information is recorded, sometimes months later, your case is presented to a judge who will then make a decision based on the information that he was provided with. With this option, you are placing large amounts of trust into the hands of people that you don’t know.
Litigation is beneficial and effective for spouses that have differing opinions about the division of assets, the disbursement of spousal or child support, and child custody issues. In situations where litigation is necessary, the outcome can be heavily influenced by which California Divorce Attorney you personally choose. Due to the complicated nature of cases that take the route of litigation, along with having to spend time waiting for your case to get heard in court, litigation will take longer and will inevitably be more costly.
Mediation
Mediation on the other hand, is completely different. Instead of hiring individual attorneys, you will hire one mediator to help you and your spouse come to an agreement regarding your assets, the amount of support, and custody issues. The mediator, most often a trained and nonbiased attorney, judge, or mental health professional, will simply facilitate the meetings between you and your spouse and allow you to come to an agreement together.
Mediation is beneficial and effective for couples that are willing to compromise and can be easier on families and their children due to its cooperative nature. In situations where mediation is possible, you and your spouse are in charge of the outcome. Due to the cooperative nature of the situation, it is often the case that mediation takes considerably less time and therefore is less costly. It has been reported that mediated divorce has the possibility of costing 1/3 as much as of a litigated divorce due to it’s out of court nature and the need to only hire one hourly fee based mediator.
With Either Option a Good, California Divorce Attorney Can Help
It is important to note that while mediation is cost effective and can be a great option for some, it is not for everyone or every situation. Contact us for a consultation to determine which option is best for you.
