Divorce mediation is quickly emerging as the most preferred Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) method for resolving divorces in New Jersey and around the country. Given that mediation takes place outside of the courtroom, it offers a number of significant advantages over more traditional divorce litigation in terms of speed, expense, privacy, and reduced stress and conflict. However, in order for divorce mediation to be successful, one of the most important factors is the neutrality and professionalism of your divorce mediator. Since most divorce mediations only involve a single attorney who is hired not to represent any one individual, but rather to help the couple find acceptable and fair resolutions, finding an experienced and knowledgeable attorney (in this case a mediator) is just as important as it is during any divorce, if not more so. Fortunately, if you’re reading this, you’ve come to the right place. Contact our skilled divorce mediation lawyers today.
Divorce Mediation Lawyers | Representing Clients Throughout New Jersey
At Townsend, Tomaio & Newmark, our firm focuses exclusively on family and divorce law. This allows our divorce mediation lawyers to be well-trained and versed in many different ADR methods, as well as general divorce negotiation and litigation strategies. In fact, founding partners Laurie L. Newmark and Dominic A. Tomaio are both court-approved mediators (as is our entire Mediation Team), and have been successfully resolving divorce disputes through mediation for the last 20 years.
If you are going through a divorce, or are considering divorce, and are interested in learning more about the mediation process or how our firm can specifically help you to mediate your divorce in New Jersey or Morris County, call our office today to discuss your unique needs, concerns, and situation in a free and confidential consultation with our legal team.
The Advantages of Divorce Mediation
Choosing to mediate your divorce rather than pursue more aggressive court litigation or negotiation strategies can be of significant benefit to you, your partner, your children, and your family unit as a whole.
As mentioned, mediation takes place outside of the courtroom, at a pace and schedule which works for you and your partner. This means that not only do you not have to worry about the stress of discussing sensitive family matters in a public court, you can discuss and decide your divorce issues at whatever speed works for you rather than waiting for court dates to open up, and family court judges to hear and decide the many issues related to your divorce.
Beyond this greatly increased privacy and flexibility, divorce mediation also tends to be less expensive than divorce. Firstly, while some couples choose to work with a divorce mediator and still retain separate legal counsel, most couples will usually choose to only work with the divorce mediator and no other attorneys. Secondly, the main idea behind mediation is to communicate honestly and openly, and strive to find fair solutions to the various aspects of any divorce, rather than pressing for every last advantage or dollar, again making mediation an often much cheaper option than traditional divorce.
Finally, contentious divorces can often affect the lives of any children involved. Children are extremely perceptive, and it is pretty much impossible to hide the anger, stress, and contention which often comes along with divorce litigation from your children. On the other hand, mediation is a much more relaxed and communicative process, and while no divorce will be without its strain or emotional toll, these things can be greatly reduced by pursuing a divorce mediation.
For more in-depth information regarding the many benefits of divorce mediation, please view our page on the topic here.
Is Mediation Right for My Divorce?
So while many individuals going through a divorce may be attracted by the many benefits mediation has to offer, mediation sadly cannot work in every situation.
In general, a successful mediation will require three things:
- Willingness to Cooperate – It is critical that BOTH spouses are ready to resolve their divorce issues through the mediation process, as the process will hinge on each party’s willingness to communicate honestly and openly, and compromise in many different areas.
- Experienced Mediation Attorney – It is also extremely important that your divorce mediator has been trained (and ideally has experience) in handling the mediation process. If either party feels as if the mediator is taking sides, the entire process can come crashing to a halt, wasting the time and efforts of everyone involved. If your mediator is able to maintain their neutrality however, they can work to help both sides understand the other’s position, and ultimately find fair and reasonable resolutions.
- Patience – While mediation can often be faster than traditional court-based divorces, that isn’t to say your divorce mediation will be finalized overnight. The more complex a family’s finances or situations, the more that will need to be discussed, negotiated, and ultimately decided before the divorce can be finalized.
For more information regarding what a successful divorce mediation will entail, you can view our page on the topic here.
Court-Ordered Mediation for Family Law Disputes
It is also important to note that while couples can voluntarily choose to use mediation to resolve a wide variety of family law disputes (such as a divorce or a post-divorce modification), in some cases the family court itself will order that the couple attempt to resolve their family law dispute through mediation before involving the court.
These court-ordered mediation sessions are typically ordered during any kind of dispute over child custody such as during a divorce or afterward in an out-of-state relocation dispute or some other kind of child custody or visitation modification matter.
Importantly, while a court may order that you attempt to resolve your dispute through mediation before involving the court, you are free to choose your own mediation attorney. If you have any reason to believe that it may be possible for you to resolve your dispute through mediation, there is no harm in at least speaking with our family law mediators in a free and confidential consultation to discuss your options moving forward.
Contact our Morris County Mediation Attorneys Today
At The Law Office of Townsend, Tomaio & Newmark, our attorneys have extensive experience acting as neutral and highly effective mediators in family law disputes of all kinds in towns across New Jersey.
Our three founding partners are each NJ Supreme Court Certified Civil Trial Attorneys and have grown the firm based on this same dedication to legal knowledge, trial skills, and most importantly, ability to communicate with clients and understand their unique needs and concerns in whatever situation they may be facing.
If you are interested in learning more about the mediation process, you can view our Mediation FAQ page or the many other pages we have dedicated to this excellent method of dispute resolution. Or, you may wish to schedule a free and confidential consultation with our legal team today regarding how exactly we can help you to mediate your divorce or family law issue in a professional and highly attentive manner.
To schedule your free consultation with our Morris County divorce mediation lawyers, please contact us online, through our Morristown, NJ office at (973) 840-8970, or our Hackensack, NJ office at (201) 285-5985.