How To Avoid The Courtroom During Your Divorce

20 October 2015
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One intimidating part of a divorce is going to court, but this is not something you can avoid with a regular divorce. Court is necessary for a judge to order the divorce if you use a traditional divorce; however, there are ways you can get divorced without ever setting foot inside a courtroom. Here are three options you could choose from to avoid going to court during your divorce.

Mediation

The first option you could choose is mediation. This method involves you, your spouse, and a third party called a mediator. All three of you will meet to discuss the terms of the divorce. The mediator will not make decisions for you, but he or she will help you come up with reasonable terms.

Mediation works best when you and your spouse can easily agree on how to divide your things. It does not work well if you and your spouse are on bad terms. When you have agreed upon everything, the mediator will send your agreement to court for a judge to sign. Once this happens, the papers will be sent back to you and your divorce will be finalized.

Arbitration

Arbitration is very similar to mediation, except that the third party is an arbitrator. While the arbitrator is not a judge, he or she acts like one in your divorce case. The three of you will meet and discuss all issues relating to the divorce. The arbitrator will help you come up with terms to agree to, but he or she also has the power to make decisions for you. If you and your spouse cannot agree on things, the arbitrator will make the decision for you.

If you are going to use arbitration for your divorce, you will both have to agree to stick with the rulings and decisions of the arbitrator. This is the only way arbitration will work for your divorce.

Collaborative divorce

The third option you have is a collaborative divorce. With this method, each of you will obtain your own lawyer. The four of you will meet together to discuss all issues relating to the divorce, and your lawyers will handle most of the negotiations for you. The nice part about this option is you have legal assistance throughout the entire process, and you will still be able to avoid going to court if you choose this method.

These three methods will allow you to get divorced without going to court, but these options are not right for all couples. To learn more about these and other options, contact Robert G. Moore Attorney at Law or a similar legal professional.