Reasons To Use Child Custody Mediation
A mediated divorce provides a viable alternative to traditional litigated divorce. It is a means by which the couple can come together and decide on the best way to divide assets and responsibilities between themselves. This can be especially important when children are involved. Here are a few reasons why child custody mediation is better than litigated divorce.
A Non-Adversarial Process
Mediated divorces are collaborative rather than adversarial. They help to jettison a lot of the anger and negative feelings that come with the dissolution of a romance and partnership. It allows parents to keep their children’s needs as the foremost concern. The parents get to work together to establish a good parenting plan without the interference of the courts.
Child Custody Mediation and Kids
A mediated process is far easier on children. Divorce is already a traumatic and difficult thing for kids to go through. Why make it worse by making them watch their parents fight over them in court? The emotional trauma can take a long time to heal. When you use the services of a mediator, your children get to see you still working as a team towards their best interests and they are less likely to blame themselves for your strife.
Blame-Free
Hand-in-hand with the non-adversarial mediation process comes freedom from blame. The mediator is a neutral professional whose job it is to keep you both focused on making the right choices for you. Blame is thrown out the window in favor of a rational plan for deciding on custody and parenting plans.
Focus on the Future
It’s easy when going through divorce to focus on the sins of the past. By keeping partners attention on the present and on what is best for them and their kids moving forward, the focus is redirected on a more positive future. In fact, this future-focused process is vital to the goal of reducing conflict, letting go of anger and making the best decisions.
Maintaining Partnerships
When you go through a divorce, you are ending a romance, but if you have kids, the relationship itself must move forward. You can’t afford for your partnership to break down entirely. Rather, you have to come up with a new means of partnering and establish a new and different relationship, which could sometimes become a deep and abiding friendship.
Divorce mediation helps you to maintain your ability to work as a team, and find a new relationship and partnership out of the dissolving of your romance and marriage. This will be vital when the time comes to make decisions about your children’s future together.
Winners All Around
It’s hard to think of the concept of winners in a divorce, but a child custody mediation comes about as close as it can to creating winners all around. It allows children to keep access to both of their parents. It allows parents to come together and maintain a partnership. It saves arguments and salvages relationships.
If you are facing divorce and think a mediated process would be good for you, give us a call for a consultation today.
Disclaimer: The content provided in the blog posts of Jones Divorce & Family Law is general information and should not be considered legal advice. Please contact a lawyer for legal advice tailored to your specific situation. All articles are current as of their original publication date.
