We noted in our immediately preceding blog post that, “There are alternatives to marriage-ending adversarialism played out in a courtroom.”
As we stated in our May 8 entry, one of those options is mediated divorce, which can offer couples a number of distinct benefits compared with the traditional take-it-to-court approach in given cases.
One of those benefits can be a significant cost savings. Another can stem from a divorce timeline that is far more flexible — and often faster — than what is customarily the case in a litigated dissolution. Still another relates to conflict, most specifically keeping a lid on it: Many couples find that engaging in divorce mediation gives them greater autonomy over virtually every aspect of the process, including a heightened ability to deflect animosities and consistently focus on problem solving while maintaining civility as a central element of the proceedings.
An invaluable divorce option for some couples: mediated divorce
As noted in a recent media piece chronicling the positives of mediated divorce relative to litigated divorce, the former is “faster, costs less, resolves conflict, [and] calms emotions instead of amping everyone up.”
The author of the above-cited piece — a family lawyer and mediator — takes some time probing why mediation can really work well, aside from the obvious fact that couples can often work out their differences most optimally when an atmosphere is purposefully geared toward civility and solving differences rather than the promotion of each side’s disparate interests.
That writer says it often comes down to a mediator’s strong and consistent efforts to listen — to really listen — to the concerns of each party, “because a case won’t resolve unless both people feel heard and respected.”
And good listening as practiced by an empathetic and proven mediator can be a mainstay in any divorce mediation, given the flexibility inherent in the process and the fundamental stress that mediation places on candor and communication.
Although mediation might not strike a positive chord for every divorcing couple, many separating spouses find that it is the ideal vehicle for ending their marriages in an upbeat manner.
