As the best divorce mediation lawyers in Arizona we often get asked, "is mediation right for my divorce or custody case?" Here at the Law Offices of Kevin Jensen one of the services that we offer is mediation. My name is Brandon Yost. I’m one of the attorneys here and this is a subject that I feel like people could really help themselves by thinking about before they file for divorce. Let me give you an example. A while back I had a client who came to me and they were already in the thick of litigation. Mother and father had been married for a few years, had some children and they needed to deal with the regular Family Court divorce issues; legal decision making for their children, parenting schedule, child support, dividing property, dividing debt and alimony, and when it first started they were generally on the same page. But wife files and then husband files on his own. Both of them did it on their own, but they were so incensed by the positions of the other person took that they started getting farther and farther away from where they had started.

By the time I got in the case we were already headed for trial and there was really no other way to go. We did a good job in that case and I’ll tell you sometimes you cannot avoid a trial because sometimes people just can’t reach an agreement and that’s OK, that’s why we have judges, that’s why we have attorneys, and that’s why we have family law. But it’s not always necessary and there are some downsides to going to trial especially in a case where you could avoid it. You’ve got a judge, she’s probably going to listen to your case for about 2 to 3 hours and then in that small period of time he or she has to listen to you and your spouse and hear all the issues about your children, your property, your finances, and then make a decision. We have great judges here in Maricopa County and throughout Arizona but that’s a lot to ask anybody to get it exactly right in a small three hour window and as often times happens, in that case we had some issues that we absolutely won on and some issues that we felt like the judge didn’t get it exactly right. I’ve never had a case that goes to trial where every single issue goes exactly our way and that’s because judges are not infallible and a three hour window is a very short window in time to present your entire life and the life of your children to the judge so the judge can make the best decision. Well in that case, while my client was still happy with the results, I feel like had I been involved earlier there may have been some other options.

Let me juxtapose that with a different situation in which mother and father both wanted to get a divorce but they talked about it and they came and saw me together and they said, "hey Brandon, here’s what we want to do. Is it something you can help us mediate?" At the Law Offices of Kevin Jensen this is one of the services we offer and we like to do a sit down with both of the parties (and in that situation I wouldn’t be representing either husband or wife, either father or mother, I’ll be sitting down as a neutral party and helping them resolve their concerns) and when I sit down with a couple in that situation, I’ll utilize my experience and knowing typically what a judge may do and knowing the law and how it would apply to their case and helping them come to the middle. I don’t advise them and I don’t represent them in that situation, but often times it ends up where they can feel good about. There’s a compromise on husband's part and a compromise on wife's part and they can walk away feeling like they have resolved their case and then we can make it all legal. We can send the documents to the court, the judge will sign them and the divorce will happen. It will be less expensive, it will be quicker, and generally speaking, the mother and father are able to get along with each other after the divorce much better which is important if they've got minor children and they’re still going to be tied together to some extent throughout the rest of their lives because of their minor children.

So please if you’re considering divorce, think about some different options. Mediation is not for everybody, and I would never assume that two persons can always come together and reach an agreement, but it’s certainly something you should consider. Please give us a call, we'd be happy to sit down with you and talk about your options. Thank you.

For more videos answering other divorce mediation or common family law questions click here.

As the best divorce mediation lawyers in Arizona we often get asked, "what can I expect when I go to a divorce mediation?" Hi I’m Kevin Jensen with the Law Offices of Kevin Jensen. I wanna talk about something that comes up in almost every Maricopa county divorce case and that is mediation. So let me kind of set the background for you. You filed for divorce, your case has progressed usually a month or two down the road, and you're having your first hearing with the judge. One of the topics that always comes up in that first hearing with the judge is; where are we going from here guys? How are we going to get this case resolved? And almost always the judge is going to want the parties to participate in something called an alternative dispute resolution. Translated from legalese, a mediation. And a mediation is simply an opportunity for the parties to meet with a neutral third-party, the mediator, to try to resolve the case without having to go to court (which in my view as someone who has done family law for 20 years is always the best way to resolve your case).

So I want to talk specifically about what to expect when you go to the mediation. What is the mediation like? What can you expect to happen? In a typical Maricopa county mediation, the court will appoint usually either a retired judge or a court commissioner to be the mediator. About a week before the mediation, both parties will be expected to present to the mediator a statement, a memorandum, outlining their settlement position on every single issue in the case. This gives the mediator some background before we ever show up to understand number one what all the issues are and what each parties current position related to those issues are. This helps the mediator understand where the really big sticking points are so that he or she can focus on those issues when we go to the mediation. Now in a pre-Covid world what would happen is that you and your attorney and the other party and their attorney would go to the mediator's office and typically the mediator is going to split us up into a couple of different rooms. You and your attorney in one room, the other party and their attorney in the other room. The mediator essentially bounces back-and-forth between the two rooms trying to push the two parties together to settle and I always tell my clients don’t be offended when the mediator comes into your room and tells you how horrible your case is and if you go to court you’re going to be making the biggest mistake in your life, the courts never going to agree with any of your positions, etc. It’s part of the job. The role of the mediators to do one thing and one thing only; to try to help you settle your case and avoid going to trial. In doing that, sometimes they give very honest opinions about what your positions are in the case. I have a lot of clients that get kind of offended, "oh, they’re on the other party's side." I assure you that they’re going into the other room and doing the same thing.

Ideally the parties come to a full agreement and if that happens, the mediator will actually gather both parties and their attorneys back together and put the entire agreement on the record, or even draft up an agreement that both parties will sign. That then becomes a binding agreement on any issues that are resolved at the mediation. Sometime it's every single issue in the case, meaning that the case is essentially over, and sometimes it’s only a partial agreement. Those agreements ultimately get submitted to the judge and once the judge signs the agreement, the case is done. In the case of a partial agreement, what it ends up doing is narrowing down the issues that you have to deal with at trail. I wanted to give you a little bit of an idea what to expect if you have a mediation in your case, then what happens? Obviously if you have an attorney, your attorney will be with you the whole time. That allows the attorney to give you advice, that allows to discuss strategy, but the goal at any mediation is to settle the case and avoid trial. The whole goal of mediation is to avoid the risk of the judge doing something crazy at trial that you’re not gonna like. You may not like everything that happens in a settlement conference. You may have to compromise and give up something that you don’t want, but you do that with an eye toward not risking the judge doing something else. So if you are in the middle of your divorce case or even if you’re contemplating divorce, we invite you to call us here at the Law Offices of Kevin Jensen. Come down, sit with us and let us have an opportunity to talk about your family law case, and specifically about how we might approach mediation in your case to try to resolve the case without the risk and stress of going to trial. Thank you.

For more videos answering other divorce mediation or common family law questions click here.

Divorce Mediation is the most common dispute resolution option; however, it is often misunderstood and confused with arbitration.

Mediation allows you and your spouse to reach a fair settlement with the help of a third, neutral party called a mediator. Mediators, who can be lawyers, mental health professionals, clergy, or other professionals trained in alternative dispute resolution techniques, help you and your spouse identify and resolve issues. This process keeps the decision-making power within the grasp of the spouses involved in the matter. However, it requires the parties to be cooperative and negotiate a settlement that both parties agree to.

The most important thing to understand is that mediators cannot give either of you legal advice. They are not a substitute for having your own lawyer. The mediator’s role is to help you and your spouse communicate and reach an agreement while your lawyer’s role is to make sure your legal rights are protected.

Mediation is confidential, allows you and your spouse to make the decisions, and is less expensive than filing a lawsuit. You can reach a positive agreement that is more customized than the one you might receive from a judge. In mediation, you are responsible for your attorney’s fees, as well as half of the mediator’s fees. In certain states, mediation is required by the court after a lawsuit has been filed; for example, Arizona often requires couples to attend mediation before a child custody trial and equitable distribution trial.

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Getting a divorce doesn’t have to be stressful or an act of war. We have found that for many couples in Arizona Divorce Mediation can offer a more positive alternative than the traditional process of divorce litigation. Doing so will reduce the stress, anxiety, and lawyer fees on both sides.

As Arizona Divorce Attorneys, one of the services we offer our clients is divorce mediation. Mediation is often the best-case scenario for families and individuals who are considering divorce in AZ. Here are some common questions about divorce mediation that may be applicable to you and your case:

• What is Divorce Mediation?
• What is Arbitration?

Avoiding Court During a Divorce Hiring a Divorce Mediator in Arizona

In some cases, spouses can work together to reach a settlement – avoiding trips to court and all the associated stress. When families begin to contemplate separation and divorce, their first thoughts often turn toward hiring a divorce lawyer. Which – while a practical step – fills many people with dread.

You may have heard the horror stories of couples being dragged through ugly custody battles, leaving in their wake scars, anger, and bitterness. You may know couples who got caught up in contests over marital property, struggles that ended up costing almost as much as the value of the property itself.

Lawyers don’t, as a rule, create problems where none existed before. Which is one big reason why the adversarial form of divorce – that is, the “typical” kind of divorce we normally think of, involving opposing attorneys for each party – has become an industry that produces billions of dollars a year in legal fees.

Without practical, consumer-oriented laws, people involved in the emotional fallout of failing marriages can be easily exploited. If you decide to work with an attorney, make sure he or she is really looking out for your best interests, and not simply finding ways to drain away money that could be better spent on your children and family.

Get Divorce Without Going to Court, When You Hire A Divorce Mediation Lawyer

Many people still believe that going through family-law court is the only path to divorce – and the resolution of disputes ranging from child or spousal support and property division to custody and visitation. That belief, not surprisingly, adds to the fear and uncertainty that’s a normal byproduct of divorce and can make settlement seem like an insurmountable hurdle.

But if you think you have to have a divorce lawyer, think again.

In fact, if you find yourself being pushed too quickly toward an adversarial process by your attorney, you should put your foot down and ask some questions. For starters: Does the attorney offer any other options besides going to court? What does he or she know about collaborative divorce law and mediation?

If the answers are “no,” and “nothing,” you’re probably in the wrong law office. That lawyer has only one thing to sell, no matter what the particulars of your case: an antagonistic, and a likely expensive, trip to the courthouse.

In situations such as this, clients are channeled into the legal system, unaware that there are alternative options that resolve all of the legal issues, yet hold open a great promise of transformation and growth.

A Divorce Mediation Lawyer Will Facilitate a Healthy Divorce

The odds are that if you’re divorcing, you know next to nothing about what to do first. Should you choose a lawyer? How do you make sure the lawyer does what’s best for you and your family? Or can you forgo the services of a divorce lawyer altogether? Where can families who are contemplating separation and divorce go to learn more about their alternatives?

Dispute settlement centers can offer a wealth of information, and a non-threatening place to find some answers to those hard questions. Trained professionals will listen to your story, and help design an alternative dispute resolution method around your family’s unique situation – a method that may or may not include divorce lawyers.

In Arizona, mediation is encouraged and made the first option by state law and most judges. Other alternatives include arbitration, a combination of mediation and arbitration, and collaborative law.

Mediation provides hope for both partners that are going through the painful process of divorce. It enables both you and your spouse to take control of the events in your lives. And it encourages self-determination and self-reliance, rather than fostering dependency on the “experts” most people turn to when faced with divorce-related choices.

Settle for the best decision-maker: yourself.

Mediation, quite simply, places the power to reach a settlement with you. It encourages a working relationship by opening the lines of communication through the use of a neutral third party. Beyond the specific facts and laws, underlying causes for disagreements you and your spouse are having may be discussed.

As the mediator helps you understand each of your ex’s interests – and vice versa – future disputes may be averted, or at least dealt with in a more constructive fashion. Involvement with the legal system is minimal, and costs may be greatly reduced.

All in all, dispute resolution professionals find that mediation can be an effective, inexpensive, relatively quick, and emotionally less traumatic means of resolving separation and divorce issues. And it provides a way for couples to deal with the reality that, in many cases, putting the dream of marriage to rest is harder than the divorce itself.

Reach out to Us

Contact our expert divorce mediation lawyers in Arizona at Genesis Family Law and Divorce Lawyers if you are looking for an experienced divorce mediator in Arizona, who understand the law and who understands how to communicate effectively with both parties in a divorce to allow each party to fuller understand and comprehend the divorce mediation process. We have over 30 years of experience as skilled Arizona mediation lawyers and have helped hundreds of couples successfully settle their disputes through mediation and we can do the same for you.

In our experience, prolonging the divorce process makes it much more difficult for you to achieve your desired outcome. If you are currently considering divorce, feel free to reach out to our team of highly skilled family law attorneys in Scottsdale so we can schedule a consultation. We know every case is unique and we will take the time to talk about your specific circumstances and find what works best for you and your family. You don’t have to do this alone. Give us a call today.

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