Choosing Divorce, Divorce Litigation, and Divorce Mediation – Taking Stock of Your Options, Part 7

This post is the seventh in a multi-part series on choosing divorce, divorce litigation, and divorce mediation. If you haven’t already read parts 1-6 I recommend you do before continuing.

When is an uncontested divorce the right choice?

There is no hard and fast formula or one size fits all solution for the best divorce. However, if uncontested divorce is an option, it can save you a lot of time, money, and stress. Uncontested divorce is most appropriate in cases where the divorcing parties are able to communicate with one another and agree on some of the key elements of their divorce. This doesn’t mean your relationship with your soon to be ex-spouse has to be all sunshine and roses – that’s obviously not very practical. However, if you and your spouse have a hard time speaking with civility to one another, or if you find it difficult to even be in the same room with one another, then uncontested divorce is likely not an option.

Benefits of divorce mediation

If your divorce is a good candidate for divorce mediation, then there are several benefits over a litigated divorce.

• Mediation is cheaper than a litigated divorce – mediated divorces generally require less hours of attorneys fees, save money in court costs, and take less time.
• Mediation offers greater control and privacy – in a litigated divorce, the couple gives up a fair amount of control over the outcome of the divorce to the judge and the court system. They also expose their personal finances to more public scrutiny.
• Agreements reached through mediation are more likely to hold up – generally speaking, people are less likely to comply long term with an agreement that is forced on them by an outside party (like a judge) than they are with an agreement they had an important role in crafting.
• Mediation tends to be less stressful – since mediation uses a far less adversarial environment and affords the participants greater control over their own circumstances, in tends to be less stressful than litigation.

Check back soon for Choosing Divorce, Divorce Litigation, and Divorce Mediation – Taking Stock of Your Options, Part 8. In the meantime, check out our page on divorce mediation.

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