When it comes to divorce, the good news is that New Jersey has one of the lowest divorce rates in the nation.  With only 8.2% of the population being divorced (compared to the high of 14.2% for Nevada), NJ ranks next to last on the list with only North Dakota ranking lower at 8.1%.  And while some may see that as good news, it’s little consolation if you are divorced.  How you will feel about your divorce down the road can vary greatly and all depends on which of the three routes to divorce you choose to take:

1. Hiring lawyers and fighting it out or litigating with each of you taking opposing positions and entrenching for the long run while going broke financially and emotionally in the process; or
2. Hiring lawyers and fighting it out through the collaborative divorce process (don’t let the name fool you – there is nothing “collaborative” about hiring two lawyers) allowing two complete strangers to dictate the terms of your settlement; or
3. Hiring one caring and professionally trained NJ divorce mediator to help you work through your differences together in a peaceful and efficient manner.  As a divorce mediator in New Jersey, can you tell which option I would suggest?

One of the things we stress to our clients at Equitable Mediation Services is that you have a choice. This is your divorce so why should you leave something so important to someone else to get a result that will impact you for the rest of your life?  Someone you don’t really know and who doesn’t really know you?   Given that it’s your life and your divorce, wouldn’t you like to have a say in what goes on and what the end result will be?  Couples who choose the smarter way to divorce and use divorce mediation in NJ instead of hiring a lawyer and litigating or using the adversarial process of a collaborate divorce have much less animosity towards their partners down the road and at the end of the day come out with the exact same settlement they would have gotten using a more adversarial process without all the stress and expense.  And while the benefits of mediation are too numerous to mention here, isn’t getting the same or a better result for 1/10th the cost of a traditional divorce reason enough to learn more about divorce mediation?

We think so and hope you do too.

If you have any questions about divorce mediation or how mediation can benefit you, please feel free to contact us to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation in one of our seven North or Central New Jersey office locations where we will take some time to get to know more about you and your situation and see if mediation is right for you.  Of if you’re simply not ready yet, feel free to visit the Equitable Mediation Services website where you’ll find lots of great information about parenting plans, equitable distribution, NJ child support and spousal support / alimony and contact us when you’re ready.  We look forward to helping you get through your divorce peacefully, efficiently and with as little stress on you and your family as possible.

Now that it’s fall, one of the common questions we receive at Equitable Mediation Services this time of year is “can mediation have me divorced by year-end?”  A good question given the numerous implications having your divorce go on for a long period of time can bring.  And while rushing through your divorce is never a good thing, having it drag on and on with endless attorney volleying (and with that volleying, substantial costs) is not what you should be looking to do either.  So how can divorce mediation in New Jersey help me you ask?

1. Divorce Mediation is an efficient divorce- couples who use a divorce mediation service like ours can typically get through their divorce in four to six sessions and have everything wrapped up in a matter of weeks instead of the years it can take in a typical, attorney driven / litigated divorce.
2. Divorce Mediation is a collaborative divorce - because you’re both sitting in the same room and working together to come to solutions that work for both of you, with the help of a neutral New Jersey divorce mediator your sessions are focused on finding solutions, not prolonging the argument.  It’s not about right or wrong, winning or losing it’s about fair and equitable.  Using mediation to handle your divorce leads to less time spent arguing and focusing on the past and more time on being future focused and solutions oriented.
3. Divorce Mediation is a smarter divorce – by empowering you to do your own research, gather your own discovery documentation and make your own decisions, with the help of your NJ divorce mediator, you control how long the process should take, savings yourself at least $20,000 in the process.  No more waiting for your attorney to call you back, no more wondering when the other side is going to respond and no more ruined weekends getting a “nastygram” from the other attorney on a Friday afternoon, only to be unable to respond until Monday.  Does that sound like something you’d want to subject yourself to?  Or would you rather take the smarter path and control your own destiny?  Last time I checked, it was your divorce.  Not the courts, not the judge’s and certainly not your attorney’s.

So if you’re ready to move forward or have any questions about divorce mediation or how mediation can benefit you, please feel free to contact us to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation in one of our seven North or Central New Jersey office locations where we will take some time to get to know more about you and your situation and see if mediation is right for you.  Of if you’re simply not ready yet, feel free to visit the Equitable Mediation Services website where you’ll find lots of great information about parenting plans, equitable distribution, NJ child support and spousal support / alimony and contact us when you’re ready.  Once you learn more about divorce mediation we know you’ll agree it truly is the smarter way to divorce.

Heard an interesting story on NPR today that talked about the effect the economy is having on couples who wish to divorce.  Given how tight things are these days, it makes sense that couples would seek a lower cost alternative to the traditional attorney driven divorce which even for uncontested cases can cost on average $27,000 here in the State of NJ.  The good news is that by doing do, many are finding out that not only does mediation cost less (around $5,000 to $7,000) it works better as well.

You can listen to the story by clicking here.

And once you do, should you have any questions about divorce mediation or how mediation can benefit you, please feel free to contact us to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation in one of our seven North or Central New Jersey office locations where we will take some time to get to know more about you and your situation and see if mediation is right for you.  Of if you’re simply not ready yet, feel free to visit the Equitable Mediation Services website where you’ll find lots of great information about parenting plans, equitable distribution, NJ child support and spousal support / alimony and contact us when you’re ready.  We look forward to helping you get through your divorce peacefully, efficiently and with as little stress on you and your family as possible.