If you are separating from your spouse after decades of marriage, you probably don’t want to go through the long and stressful process of a traditional divorce. You might want to consider skipping the courtroom and going through mediation instead.
Sitting down with a neutral mediator and figuring out your separation peacefully could make your divorce much easier. If you don’t understand how mediation works, you may want to learn how it can help you.
You get the final say in dividing your assets
You’ve been building a life together with your spouse for years up to this point. Figuring out how to split everything equally takes a lot of work—and the result doesn’t always make both sides happy.
If your divorce goes to court, a judge will decide on everything you and your spouse can’t figure out on your own. After years of building up your assets, you might not be happy with the way the judge rules. If you sit down with a mediator instead, you can come up with a plan that works for both of you.
Mediation saves you money
In a traditional divorce, both you and your spouse have to get your own attorneys. But if you hire an attorney to mediate your divorce, you are already splitting the cost in half. This could save you thousands of dollars over the course of the divorce process.
Mediation may also go faster than a divorce in court—so you might not have to pay your attorney for nearly as long. Factor in the court fees you get to skip, and mediation can cost much less in the long run.
It can be easier on the whole family
Divorce can affect children in many different ways, whether it happens when they are young or when they are adults. Seeing you and your spouse fight can cause your children distress even when they are grown up.
At this point, your children might have careers and families of their own. It can be confusing for them to balance their lives with figuring out the new divide between their parents. If you two don’t fight as much because you are working together through mediation, it may not affect everyone as much.
Mediation can help you get through the challenge of ending a long-term marriage. An experienced family law attorney can get you started on the mediation process.
