When going through a divorce, one area where many parties disagree is the physical placement of the children. This is a “hot button” issue because placement impacts child support payments and where the children will live. Parents are also concerned because one party may think the other parent can’t do a good job raising the children. Arguing over physical placement of the children can turn what you thought was a quick and easy divorce into an ugly drawn-out slug fest. Fortunately, there are ways to make this process less painful. Mediation is one of those ways.
Mediation is where the two parties attempt to settle a dispute or controversy by hiring an independent person (the mediator, usually an attorney) to work with the parties in order to aid them in resolving their disagreement. Many times the parties are in separate rooms and the mediator goes back-and-forth between the rooms to flush out each party’s position and narrow down the issues and ultimately tries to get the parties to come to an agreement. If the parties can agree then a document is drafted and signed.
Many counties in Wisconsin are now requiring people to go to mediation if there is a dispute over physical placement. It is usually done early in the divorce. The benefit of mediation is that getting the parties to talk to a mediator quickly might resolve issues and other things can be focused on. Many times divorces linger and become expensive because people have unreasonable demands. A mediator can be an outside voice that provides guidance when a demand may be unreasonable or the parties aren’t communicating.
Mediation is something I strongly encourage for all of my clients. It helps keep costs down and helps get a divorce finalized much faster. That should be the goal of any divorce attorney you hire. Your attorney should always being looking out for your best interest.
I represent families in divorce and offer, free, no cost, no obligation consultations. If you have a divorce or post divorce question such as custody, placement, child support or maintenance or any other issue related to divorce please contact me in the Madison area at (608) 824-9540, Baraboo area at (608) 356-3961. Also, please check out our website at https://khtlawyers.com for additional information.
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