Equitable Mediation to Open Three New Locations in Bergen County
October 27, 2011 by Joseph F Dillon · Comments Off
Equitable Mediation Services announced today that it will now be serving divorce mediation clients in Bergen County, New Jersey in the towns of Paramus, Saddle Book and Hackensack, expanding the number of it’s New Jersey office locations to 12.
Managing Partner and Equitable Mediation founder Joseph Dillon said “I know I speak for everyone here at Equitable Mediation when I say that we’re pleased to be able to assist divorce mediation clients in an office location that’s convenient for them during their time of need and by expanding into Paramus, Saddle Book and Hackensack, we’re able to do just that for Bergen County couples.”
Until recently Equitable Mediation Services focused mostly on Central NJ and the lower part of Northern NJ with office locations in Bedminster, Bridgewater, East Brunswick, Iselin (Metropark), Morristown Princeton, Short Hills, Red Bank and Roseland. With the expansion into Bergen County and the towns of Paramus, Saddle Book and Hackensack, clients in those areas will still be able to obtain the benefits of mediation in NJ but in a location that’s much closer to their home. This is especially convenient for those individuals who may live in New Jersey but work in New York City which many Bergen County resident do.
“Our clients come to us from all over the state and up until recently, for those individuals who phoned us seeking mediation services in Paramus, Saddle Book or Hackensack, the best we could do was offer them a meeting in one of our other office locations which for some, wasn’t convenient. Having these three new office locations is going to make it easier on our clients in Bergen County to get the services they need from a firm they can trust. We’ve been mediating for a long time and divorce mediation is our full time profession. Using an unknown firm without Accredited Professional Mediators just isn’t something clients should want to take a chance on.”
Because the laws of the State apply to all clients who are eligible to file for divorce in New Jersey, Equitable Mediation Services is able to service clients no matter where they live. Adding three new Bergen County office locations is in line with the Equitable Mediation philosophy of reducing the stress of an already uncomfortable situation by being where the clients need divorce mediation services the most. For information on the new Equitable Mediation Services office locations, please see the addresses below.
- Paramus Divorce Mediation: 140 East Ridgewood Avenue – Paramus, New Jersey
- Saddle Brook Divorce Mediation: (the Park 80 West building)- 250 Pehle Avenue, Suite 200 – Saddle Brook, New Jersey
- Hackensack Divorce Mediation (opening winter 2012) – 401 Hackensack Avenue – Suite 200 – Hackensack, New Jersey
If you have any questions about divorce mediation in NJ or our services, please call us at (908) 864-2177.
Full Mobile Version of Equitable Mediation Services Website Now Available
October 24, 2011 by Joseph F Dillon · Comments Off
Did you know that 10% of the visitors to the Equitable Mediation Services website are using mobile devices? In order to make it even easier on our visitors, we have developed a true mobile version of our website that works seamlessly with your Android, iPhone or Blackberry device. Simply visit our regular website at www.equitablemediation.com and you’ll be automatically redirected. Or if you’re one of those folks who are smart enough to access it direct, please visit www.equitablemediation.mobi. As always, we welcome your feedback and would love to know what you think. Please call us at (908) 864-2177 with comments or questions.
The Best Lawyers Are the Worst Mediators
February 10, 2011 by Joseph F Dillon · Comments Off
This may seem like a bold statement coming from an Accredited Professional Divorce Mediator in NJ such as myself but experience has shown, much like you wouldn’t hire a circus clown to perform open heart surgery, you shouldn’t hire an attorney to mediate your divorce. Now I know what you’re thinking – an attorney knows the law so they would be the perfect choice to mediate my divorce but the fact is attorneys by their very nature are taught to represent one side. But by the very fact that you’re mediating – that is working together to compromise and resolve your differences – how does the attorney decide who they’re going to represent because as a mediator they can’t. All too often, I’ve seen attorney mediators want to impose their will on clients because as attorneys, “they know better.” Says who!?
When it comes to divorce mediation in New Jersey, most of the decisions to be made are entirely up to the parties involved. And while yes, the law is involved to a certain degree, if both parties are of sound mind and understand the consequences of their decisions, they are free to make any choices they want, even if others may perceive them as bad ones. In divorce mediation we call it the principle of self-determination. We as human beings and residents of the State of New Jersey can make whatever decisions we’d like to make even if it is perceived as not being in our own self-interest. Don’t get me wrong – mediators are not potted plants simply put there to monitor the proceedings and bless whatever decisions the parties make – we too have our own principle of self-determination in play and we too can decide to make a decision that’s in our own self-interest and that may be to leave the mediation. But unlike our attorney friends, we don’t always assume we’re right.
Take for example the case I had in which the parties had what I refer to as an “un-equitable distribution.” In this case, after laying out all of their marital assets and liabilities, the wife was receiving literally 91% of everything they had accumulated over their 15 years of marriage. To make matters more interesting, the husband refused spousal support even though he made 60% less than the wife did. Now if you were a trained advocate, wouldn’t you be sitting there trying to convince him this was a bad idea? Perhaps but if you were doing that, you’d probably be too busy to notice the only asset the husband wanted was the couple’s cemetery plot.
Think about it.
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Joseph Dillon is a Professional Accredited Divorce Mediator in NJ and a Managing Partner of Equitable Mediation Services a New Jersey divorce mediation practice serving Somerset, Mercer, Middlesex, Essex, Morris, Monmouth and Hunterdon counties including the towns of Edison, Parsippany, East Brunswick, West Orange, Bridgewater, South Brunswick, Hillsborough, Livingston, Randolph, Maplewood, West Windsor, Summit, Plainsboro, Millburn, Morristown, Montgomery, Madison, Readington, Branchburg, Warren, Princeton, Metuchen, Lawrenceville, Pennington, Short Hills, Bernards, Bedminster, Colts Neck, Holmdel, Roseland, Montclair and all surrounding areas.
