With legal paperwork available online and DIY(do it yourself) Divorces, you do not need to get a lawyer if you and your spouse agree on everything, right? Wrong, it is always important to have legal assistance when you are involved in ending a relationship. It is especially critical if you have children, a home, or a business. But there are many options available other than the traditional both people get an attorney and fight it out in court model. One of the best options for an uncontested (resolved) case is to go through mediation. The skilled Family Law attorneys at Cobb Cole can guide you through the mediation and divorce process.
Benefits of Mediation
- Less conflict
- Greater Flexibility, Clear Resolution
Less Conflict
Hiring an attorney to help guide you through resolving your divorce is important, even if you think you already have everything settled. Rather than starting with legal papers and technically suing your spouse (the traditional route), mediation allows you to begin by meeting in a neutral non-confrontational setting with a trained third party. Cobb Cole’s Family Law attorneys can guide the process, and our attorneys frequently serve as neutrals in mediation. They will review your situation with both of you and go over all the items that must be resolved in a divorce case such as child custody, visitation or time-sharing, child support and/or dividing assets and debts, the family home, business, and retirement accounts.
More Options, Clear Details
Often as a divorcing couple, you think you have everything resolved but do not realize all the details that need to be determined and spelled out clearly in order to have things truly resolved. For example, the terms or general guidelines for time sharing or visitation need to be set out with rules for holidays and summer break. Saying “every other weekend” is just not enough detail especially as situations evolve over the years. Your mediator will help you determine which options will work best for you, your spouse, and your children.
If you jointly own a family home and do not want to sell it right now, your mediator can help you look at alternatives such as refinancing to buy out your spouse. Or you may be advised to explore the option of delaying the sale until the last child turns 18. Your Cobb Cole Family Law team can help you compromise with your spouse and find a mutually beneficial resolution.
With legal matters, it is important to have all your i’s dotted and t’s crossed and there are certain procedures and rules that must be followed to properly divide assets. Some of these procedures are fairly obscure and easy to miss. A great example is specific court orders (QDROs) needed for dividing a retirement account between two spouses. This is critical if your spouse worked at company X and you are relying on his retirement benefits for your later years. Your mediator will make sure that you are aware of all the critical terms needed for your divorce to be resolved properly. Once you have come to a resolution on all the necessary items with the mediator, they can then refer you to another attorney to file the necessary legal paperwork with the Court.
Cobb Cole Law Firm – Skilled Lawyers and Mediators
When it comes to Uncontested Divorce, if you choose mediation, a Cobb Cole Family Law attorney can guide the process. Our legal team is here to help and while attorneys often serve as neutrals in mediation, our Firm also boards three lawyers who are trained and licensed mediators.
