I think most couples are ideal for both mediation and collaborative law. The difference is when you’re in mediation a complaint’s been filed and you are in litigation. You have the deadlines of the court hanging over you. In the collaborative law process you can work within your own pace and therefore you don’t have the deadlines hanging over you.
Also in the collaborative process remember that if one party decides to then file for divorce, the collaborative process stops and both parties must retain new counsel, then all that work is not effective for the parties and their resolution. So, that keeps the parties wanting to maintain in the collaborative process.
I would encourage parties to look at collaborative law as a process, prior to filing the complaint of divorce because it enables them to move into the divorce process more as a team effort than feeling that one party is getting the hammer of litigation hanging over them.
If they are in litigation then I encourage those parties to enter into mediation. However some parties don’t want to resolve a dispute, they don’t want to go that route and those cases of course we have to engage in litigation.
New Jersey attorney Cynthia Ann Brassington is certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a Matrimonial Law Attorney, and regularly helps people to resolve their divorce-related issues, from property division to child support, and custody. To learn more about Cynthia and her practice visit www.LinwoodFamilyLaw.com.
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