Dr. Judith Gerhart, CFP
Certified Divorce Financial Analyst 
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Mediating Instead of Litigating
August 7, 2008
If you are among the 10% or so who have not been able to agree with your spouse on the terms of your divorce, before your lawyers start scrapping hire a mediator. A mediator is a specialist in assisted negotiation who will help you and your spouse come to an agreement on those issues that you have not been able to resolve on your own. Mediation is successful in resolving the majority of disputes and can change your divorce from a courtroom contest into a far less expensive paper shuffle.
Compared to a divorce trial which you can expect to cost each spouse tens of thousands of dollars, mediation will only cost a few thousand each, possibly even less.
Free initial consultations are offered by lawyers looking for your business. Before booking an appointment with a lawyer make sure the first 30 minutes or so will be free or else call someone else. It may be that after getting some preliminary information you will find that you won’t need a lawyer to handle your divorce and you can try one of the cheaper alternatives.
By Howard MacKinnon
Posted by Judith Gerhart on August 7, 2008 | Permalink | Post a comment
Topics: Divorce, Finance, Tips |
