Divorce Mediation Attorney
Divorce mediation is a process that allows you to work cooperatively to resolve the issues raised in separation and divorce, for the benefit of your family. Mediators provide neutral communication facilitation between the parties and encourage problem-solving by the parties themselves.
Who Divorce Mediation Is For
For those willing to give full disclosure of their financial situation, divorce mediation may be the answer. Mediation empowers you to problem-solve and keeps the decision-making within your control, rather than in the control of a judge or another person. For more than 20 years, Farrell & Croft, P.C. has helped spouses through mediation services, whether serving as your mediator or as your individual counsel.
What to Expect
The initial session typically lasts 1.5 to 2 hours, giving the mediator a chance to understand what’s disputed and what’s already agreed upon. Follow-up sessions generally run at least an hour. Successful mediation ends with a signed, mediated agreement, which both parties are encouraged to have reviewed by their own counsel before signing.
What You'll Need to Bring
Mediation moves faster and produces fairer results when both spouses come prepared. That typically means a completed financial disclosure form along with documentation of income, assets, debts, and any significant property. Trying to reconstruct this information mid-session slows the process down and can leave gaps that surface later as disputes.
Confidentiality in Mediation
Because mediation is confidential, you can speak candidly during sessions. With limited exceptions, nothing said or documented solely during mediation is admissible in later litigation, and mediators cannot be compelled to testify at trial except in very limited circumstances.
Mediation vs. Litigation — Cost and Control
Mediation puts the decision-making back in your hands instead of a judge’s. It’s also typically less expensive than litigation, since the mediation fee is shared equally between both parties rather than each side paying for separate, contested court proceedings. Beyond the immediate cost savings, a mediated agreement tends to hold up better over time — spouses who helped negotiate their own resolution are generally more likely to follow it than one a judge imposed after a contested hearing.
What Issues Divorce Mediation Can Resolve
Divorce mediation can address the full range of issues a divorce raises — custody and visitation, child and spousal support, division of property and retirement accounts, and apportionment of marital debt. You don’t need to resolve every issue through mediation to benefit from the process; some couples use mediation for the issues they’re able to agree on and leave narrower, more contested questions for negotiation between attorneys or, if necessary, the court.
Choosing a Mediator vs. Individual Counsel
Farrell & Croft, P.C. can serve either as your neutral mediator or as individual counsel representing just one spouse in someone else’s mediation. As mediator, we don’t represent either party and can’t give either spouse legal advice — our role is strictly to facilitate. As individual counsel, we represent your interests specifically, advising you on your rights and reviewing the mediated agreement before you sign, while still respecting the collaborative nature of the mediation process itself.
Preparing for Your First Session
Coming to your first mediation session prepared makes a real difference in how efficiently the process moves. Beyond the financial disclosure form, it helps to have thought through your priorities in advance — which issues matter most to you, where you have real flexibility, and what outcome you’re actually trying to reach. Couples who arrive with a vague sense of “we’ll figure it out” tend to use more sessions working through basic groundwork that could have been thought through beforehand.
After Mediation Ends
Once you’ve reached a mediated agreement, the mediator drafts the written document reflecting what you agreed to. From there, each spouse should have their own attorney review it before signing, since the review is your opportunity to catch anything that doesn’t actually reflect the agreement, or that could create problems in how it’s interpreted later. Once signed, the agreement is typically incorporated into your final divorce decree, making its terms enforceable by the court.
If You Can't Reach a Full Agreement
Mediation doesn’t have to be all-or-nothing. Some couples resolve most issues through mediation but reach an impasse on one or two — often property valuation or a specific custody detail — and need to resolve those narrower disputes through negotiation between attorneys or, if necessary, a court hearing. Reaching partial agreement through mediation still narrows what needs to be litigated, which usually saves both time and cost even when mediation doesn’t resolve everything.
How Divorce Mediation Differs From Marriage Counseling
Divorce mediation is sometimes confused with counseling, but the two serve entirely different purposes. Counseling focuses on the relationship itself, often with the goal of working through problems together. Mediation assumes the marriage is ending and focuses on resolving the practical and legal issues that separation raises — custody, support, and property — as fairly and efficiently as possible. Couples who are still uncertain about whether to divorce are generally better served by counseling first, and can turn to mediation once that decision has actually been made.
Contact us about divorce mediation to see if it’s right for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Divorce mediation is a cooperative process where a neutral mediator facilitates communication between spouses to help them resolve the issues raised by their separation and divorce, rather than having a judge decide.
You’re not required to have an attorney present during mediation sessions, but it’s strongly recommended that you have your own attorney review the mediated agreement before signing it.
The initial session usually runs 1.5 to 2 hours, with follow-up sessions of at least an hour each. The total timeline depends on how many issues are in dispute and how quickly both parties reach agreement.
Yes. With limited exceptions, information exchanged solely during mediation is not admissible in later litigation.
Generally, yes. The mediation fee is shared equally between both parties, whereas in litigation each side pays for their own separate counsel.
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