Say that you and your spouse are seeking a Georgia divorce. Both of you have made good-faith efforts to make your marriage work, but have come to the firm realization that such is not to be the case.
And you have some issues that you fear might be problematic — or at least somewhat difficult to resolve — in the divorce process.
Perhaps, like many other divorcing couples, there are determinations to be made regarding child custody and visitation. Maybe you have tried your hand at a parenting plan and ended up frustrated and worried over the acrimony that ensued.
Perhaps support issues are at the forefront of things you and your soon-to-be ex simply cannot agree on, involving both the kids and spousal maintenance.
And if your marriage spanned a number of years, it is a possibility — indeed, a likelihood for many similarly situated couples — that an equitable division of marital assets is on your mind.
Many divorcing couples with issues to negotiate often balk at the idea of turning to court to resolve them. Indeed, the idea of conceding ultimate authority regarding truly important family law-related matters to a judge can be unnerving. Although that person does not know you and your spouse, he or she is cloaked with the authority to make impersonal and arms-length decisions about your lives that ultimately might not sit right with either of you.
There are alternatives to marriage-ending adversarialism played out in a courtroom.
Mediated divorce is one of them, and it is a central practice area at the Atlanta-based Siemon Law Firm. As we note on the Family Law Mediation Services page of our website, “Mediation is a significant aspect of nearly everything we do.”
Readers interested in learning more about the benefits of mediated divorce and the distinctive advantages that the process often confers compared to a litigated divorce might want to peruse our next blog post. In next week’s entry, we will take a close look at what divorce mediation is, how it works and why many couples deem it an optimal process for resolving dissolution-related issues and crafting an equitable divorce outcome.
