Mediation
WHAT IT INVOLVES
Mediation is a confidential process of meeting with your partner and me for the purpose of reaching an agreement on the issues about which you disagree. It usually involves one to two individual meetings with each person in order to obtain a good background of the situation and understand your basic concerns. Once you are ready, joint meetings among the three of us are scheduled to focus on identifying and prioritizing your major interests and exploring alternative settlements that maximize satisfaction for both participants.
Depending upon their age and level of maturity, children may be included in the process by means of confidential meetings with me. They will be encouraged to describe the quality of their relationship with each parent and any preferences they have for a custody plan.
Mediation gives parents an opportunity to work together to create a safe environment where their concerns can be thoroughly explored. In this setting, they are often successful in crafting a custody plan and establishing agreements between them which lay the foundation for them to successfully co-parent in the future.
HOW TO GET STARTED
Couples or individuals can contact me directly to explore the possibility of using mediation to address the problems that separate them. If represented by counsel, they should also discuss this possibility with their attorney. Once a custody plan and other agreements are reached, I strongly urge both parties to meet with their attorneys and have the plan reviewed before committing themselves to any final arrangements.
