Using Divorce Mediation Orange County

By Charles Price


Many couples hire attorneys and prepare to go through a lengthy court battle when they decide to end their marriages. They assume there is no other way to get through the legal process without spending a lot of money on an attorney or battling it out before a judge in the family law court. However, with divorce mediation Orange County couples might actually find the process a lot less expensive and contentious. You can decide if it is right for you by learning what it is and what is involved with it.

Getting divorced can be an expensive undertaking once you get lawyers involved. Lawyers charge top dollar per hour for their services. By the time your case is finished, you may end up paying thousands of dollars in legal fees. Mediators charge less money than attorneys and can be assigned to you on a case by case basis. They also speed up the process of the case going through the court system.

These court representatives are available for couples who have relatively straightforward divorces and do not have to face issues like deciding who gets the kids or who is entitled to child or spousal support. In fact, couples who do not have children and few assets to split up often benefit the most by this type of legal service. They can get through the situation without a lot of contention.

Further, a mediator often lacks the legal authority to settle issues like who gets custody of the kids and who must pay child support. A family court judge has to decide these matters and issue a formal decree on them. Without the formal decree, any arrangements decided on by you and the other party are not legally binding.

However, some states allow mediators to intervene in cases involving spousal support. They typically are allowed to remain involved in a case where both parties agree that one person is entitled to support for a finite amount of time. If the case becomes hostile, the mediator must then refer it to a judge and family court.

You can typically find a mediator available to you regardless of what level of the court system you file a case. They may have waiting lists, meaning you might have to wait a few weeks to file your own petition. Still, once your name comes up on the list, the process typically goes relatively fast. It may involve one or two meetings with the mediator to discuss the issues at hand and reach a final agreement between both parties.

By law, you are entitled to hire a lawyer at any time. However, you may not choose to do so because of the expense involved. Many attorneys charge hundreds of dollars per hour for their services. When you are trying to get through the situation on a budget and without spending too much, you may instead prefer to hire a mediator rather than an attorney.

Getting a divorce can be faster and easier when you use mediation rather than attorneys for your case. This suggestion can help you as long as you do not have minor children to take into consideration or a lot of assets to divide up with the other person. You typically can get the results you want faster.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment