While Divorce Mediation is recommended for most separating couples, there are instances in which mediation would not be the best choice.
If there have been serious incidents of physical or verbal abuse in the relationship, there is a likeliness that the abused party would feel intimidated by the other in the mediation process. In these types of cases, letting lawyers work together to reach a settlement via use of the court or negotiation would be the best option.
When one spouse has control over the financial information and the other spouse does not trust that spouse to provide them with the financial information, mediation is difficult if not impossible. This is a trickier area, especially if one party feels the other party may be hiding assets or in some other way cannot be relied upon to be forthcoming with financial information, it would be best to retain an experienced attorney.
In the case of an absentee spouse it can, for obvious reasons, be difficult to sit down in mediation and reach an agreement that is fair to both parties. If your spouse is “missing, you will need an attorney to, after a reasonable search for that person, file for divorce by “default” on your behalf.
If you have questions about whether Divorce Mediation is right for you, please contact Carol Delzer at Family Law Center for a consultation for Divorce Mediation qualifications.
