Divorce Mediation

Did you know?
That mediation can be helpful at all stages of a divorce? If you did not use mediation for a divorce and now have changing circumstances that you think might require a trip back to court, consider mediation as an option for resolving disputes.

We offer you reasonable rates and a divorce mediator who has over twenty-five years of experience as a divorce attorney, who has successfully mediated divorce agreements for many divorcing couples, and who has the knowledge and experience to guide you and your spouse to a fair and reasonable divorce outcome. In most cases, divorce mediation with an experienced divorce mediator-attorney will be your least costly and least stressful way to end a marriage.

To learn more about divorce mediation, call 781-938-5819 or e-mail Stig Bolgen at stigbolgen@bolgenlaw.com to set up a free initial telephone or office consultation.

In Massachusetts, there are only two ways to get a divorce: either the parties agree as to the division of their property, the custody and support of their children, and the terms of spousal support, if any, or a judge decides these issues after a long, expensive and painful litigation process. If a couple cannot reach agreement about these issues on their own, yet they don’t want a judge to decide for them, one option is to for them to hire a divorce mediator to help them reach a fair agreement.

A mediator does not represent either party. Instead, the mediator provides legal information to the parties and creates a cooperative environment where the couple can work together to reach agreement on the terms of their divorce. Both parties have the right to consult with attorneys during the divorce mediation process if they wish — but attorney involvement is not required to get a divorce using divorce mediation. Once an agreement is reached, our experienced mediator will write up the agreement into a document which the parties can file in Court to obtain a divorce.

The mediation process works only if both the husband and wife are willing to make a full financial disclosure, and if they both are willing to make a good faith effort to reach agreement.

The benefits of mediation are:

Lower cost because the cost of the mediator is split between the parties, and the process takes a shorter amount of time. The amount of time needed to reach agreement varies based upon the level of conflict, the number of issues and the complexity of the parties’ finances. Mediation costs $225 per hour, and a typical mediation takes approximately 5 – 10 hours.
Less painful for the children and the parties because the nasty battles that usually characterize the divorce litigation process are avoided.
Mediated settlements usually last longer and work better because the parties have more of a stake in an agreement that they worked out themselves. Recent studies suggest that divorce mediation typically produces a more positive post-divorce parenting system for couples with children.
A contested divorce court proceeding creates a written record that can be accessed by the public. As a confidential process that takes place outside a courthouse, divorce mediation gets you to a divorce settlement without a public paper trail documenting your marital disputes.

Divorce mediation may be your best solution whether your disputes are few or many. A divorce mediator can draft all of the paperwork required to complete a Massachusetts no-fault divorce.

If you think mediation might work for you, please call or e-mail us for more information.