Why Choose Mediation in Divorce?
In divorce mediation, disputing parties hire an impartial third party to assist them in negotiating a resolution of their issues. The mediator works with both sides and helps develop options to settle the dispute on terms that are acceptable to both while minimizing the rancor that often accompanies courtroom proceedings. Mediation can be used for a wide variety of divorce and family law issues including:
- Child Custody
- Division Of Property And Debt
- Child Support
- Maintenance
- Modification of Maintenance (Alimony)
- Modification Of Child Support
- Modification Of Child Custody
- Paternity
- Relocation
- School Choice
Mediation is often the most efficient and cost-effective approach to modifying parenting (visitation and custody), child support, and maintenance (alimony). People who are able to come to agreement in mediation do not have to go through the cost and uncertainty of a trial.
Mediation vs. Trial
Divorce mediation allows you and your spouse to stay in charge of the outcome of the case by meeting face-to-face and negotiating the terms of your divorce with the guidance of a trained mediator.
A mediator does not replace a lawyer but, rather, assists you in resolving your case by educating you and your spouse about the issues you need to deal with in your divorce, helping you gather the information you need to make the right decisions, working with you to develop options for settling your case without a trial, and putting all of your agreements in simple, understandable language.
Trials are often expensive, time-consuming, and riddled with uncertainty. At the end of the trial a judge must determine your fate from whatever limited evidence has been presented. Mediation keeps you in control of the timing and the outcome.
Even cases that are headed for trial usually are settled. By using mediation, you eliminate the financial and emotional cost of trial preparation and instead focus all of your resources on coming up with a fair outcome.
The Mediation Process
Mediation allows you and your spouse to meet with an experienced professional who has thorough knowledge of the issues you are facing, and who can guide the two of you through the divorce process using a problem solving approach rather than pitting you against each other.
In a series of sessions, generally around 90 minutes each, you will first be presented with information about property division, parenting, and financial support, then be given tools and guidance on how to gather your financial information, and, finally, be assisted through a process that helps the two of you reach mutually agreeable resolutions for all of the issues.
While mediation does not eliminate the need for lawyers, it limits the amount of time that they need to spend on your case. This means that mediation is almost always considerably less expensive than the traditional approach to divorce.
A successful divorce mediation allows you to put the trauma of divorce behind you so that you can move forward with your life more quickly. It also permits you and your former spouse to work together for your children’s benefit. Speak to an experienced divorce mediator at Paule, Camazine & Blumenthal about whether divorce mediation will work for you.
Meet Alan Freed
Mr. Freed is listed in Best Lawyers for Mediation, Collaborative Law: Family Law, Family Law Mediation, and Family Law. He was selected St. Louis “Lawyer of the Year” four times by Best Lawyers: in 2013 and 2018 for Collaborative Law: Family Law, in 2015 for Family Law Mediation, and in 2017 for Mediation. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers in 2009 and is listed in Missouri/Kansas Super Lawyers. A mediator since 1985, Mr. Freed is listed as a Senior Mediator on mediate.com, a well-known international mediation website, and has served as an adjunct professor at the Washington University Law School, teaching Family Mediation.
In divorce mediation…
Disputing parties hire an impartial third party to assist them in negotiating a resolution of their issues.
The mediator works with both sides and helps develop options to settle the dispute on terms that are acceptable to both while minimizing the rancor that often accompanies courtroom proceedings. Mediation can be used for a wide variety of divorce and family law issues including:
Mediation is often the most efficient and cost-effective approach to modifying parenting (visitation and custody), child support, and maintenance (alimony). People who are able to come to agreement in mediation do not have to go through the cost and uncertainty of a trial.
Mr. Freed co-authored the book Divorce In Missouri, published in April 2009, with his long-time law partner Alisse Camazine. It is the only book available containing comprehensive information on Missouri divorce issues written for the layperson. He is one of a handful of leading collaborative practitioners asked to contribute to Understanding Collaborative Family Law, published in 2011 and is also the co-author (with Daniel P. Card, II) of Appellate Practice, Volume 24 in the West Publishing Missouri Practice series.
Mr. Freed’s practice is centered on mediation and collaborative divorce, processes that use creative problem-solving as the principal means of resolving family law issues. Mr. Freed is also the Paule, Camazine & Blumenthal attorney with principal responsibility for the matters in the family law department that are taken to the Missouri Court of Appeals and the Missouri Supreme Court, and he regularly appears before the appellate courts.
Team Oriented Attorneys
An experienced mediator can provide valuable assistance in dealing with the highly emotional decisions surrounding such issues as child support, child custody, and property division.
In St. Louis, Missouri, the lawyers to come to are the ones at Paule, Camazine & Blumenthal, P.C.
Alan Freed, attorney at Paule, Camazine & Blumenthal, P.C. has mediated divorce, custody, and property division in complex family law proceedings.
contact alan freed today
If you’re involved in divorce or child custody proceedings, contact the law firm of Paule, Camazine & Blumenthal today by calling 314-244-3653.
The choice of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based solely upon advertisements.