Divorce mediation is often a way for spouses to arrive at a settlement agreement without going to court. The divorce mediation process will most likely make the divorce proceeding less costly and complicated. The Cost of Divorce Mediation process is presided over by a trained and specialized neutral professional who meets divorcing spouses to help them work together to settle issues in their divorce. The most common problems they will attempt to settle are the division of property, spousal support, or custody and visitation issues. The objective is to reach a settlement agreement, thereby avoiding unexpected legal consequences, long divorce trials, and high costs that come with it.
Is Divorce mediation Applicable in New York?
In New York, divorce mediation can be done before or after a spouse files for a divorce, even when conflicts still exist after the divorce trial.
Who are qualified to be divorce mediators in New York?
What is a mediator? The state of New York doesn’t require a license for a divorce mediator to practice. Frequently, the best ones are trained and experienced in offering divorce mediation services. Often, a divorce mediator could be a divorce lawyer, a psychotherapist, a marriage and family therapist, or a family counselor.
Are Attorney Mediators a good option as private mediators?
Yes. Since divorce cases often involve complicated legal issues, attorney mediators can lead off problems that may arise in traditional divorce litigation. They are well-versed in divorce law and can ensure an efficient process.
What do I expect to happen in divorce mediation?
In New York, the mediation process includes the following steps:
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- Orientation
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- Gathering the information about the divorce case
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- Identifying the wants of each spouse
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- Tackling settlement options
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- Negotiating a settlement
A divorce mediator cannot reveal anything said by both parties, whether written or spoken, during the divorce mediation process.
When is the best time to do divorce mediation?
The best time to initiate divorce mediation is before the divorce trials start. An uncontested divorce will cost less because several legal issues can be settled before the divorce process, such as:
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- Spousal Maintenance (or Child Support as known in other states)
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- Division of Marital Assets
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- Dependent Child Support and Child Custody
There are several advantages that spouses can enjoy if they reach an agreement on these issues:
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- Avoiding legal fees associated with having a divorce lawyer. The difference in cost alone between divorce mediation vs litigation. To give you an idea of what is litigation costs, this could reach up to $50,000 per person.
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- Minimize conflict that arises in a typical divorce process.
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- Avoid headaches that often occur in traditional divorce litigation
There are often cases when the judge orders spouses to seek court-sponsored mediation programs to help ease the divorce process. However, divorce mediation may still be necessary even if the divorce is final when ex-spouses still dispute several issues, such as difficult custody disputes.
The Cost of Divorce Mediation in New York
Several factors affect the divorce mediation cost depending on whether spouses use a private mediator, court-sponsored mediation, or non-profit divorce mediators.
Low-Cost or Free Divorce Mediation:
Couples in New York can avail of low-cost mediation services once the court refers a case to mediation. If the couples can’t afford private mediation, they can avail themselves of the services of a court-connected mediator or a local community mediation center. The divorce mediation cost varies among counties, however. The first mediation session is usually free. The additional mediation sessions may be free but can get as high as an hourly rate of $400.
Cost of Private Mediators
The cost of private divorce mediation depends on the mediator’s experience, qualifications, scale and complexity of the case or if the claim involves complex assets. On average, divorce mediation costs in New York are between $5,000 to $10,000 shared between the parties. Some private mediators charge a flat fee to cover the entire divorce mediation services. However, in many cases, private mediators charge at an hourly rate. The average cost per hour of mediation service in New York is around $350.
Though divorce mediation services may sound expensive initially, the cost of a complicated traditional divorce process far outweighs the cost of divorce mediation.
Takeaways: Win-Win Divorce Solutions Makes a Friendly, Humanistic, Healing, and Civilized Approach to Divorce Mediation
Divorce can be a stressful process for all parties involved, and the last thing you want is to make things complicated. With Win-win Divorce Solutions, you can avail of a calm and rational divorce mediation process with a friendly, humanistic, healing, and civilized approach. We pride ourselves in arriving at an amicable divorce agreement efficiently that can be affordable in the end. If you want divorce mediation services that are far less stressful, affordable, and efficient, call us at (855) 268-4946 (Hauppage) or (516) 960-7667 (Lake Success). Book a free initial consultation ($367 value) by filling out the contact form on this page: Divorce Mediation .vs Divorce Litigation.
