Can The Divorce Mediator File Your Divorce Papers?
About 40 to 50 percent of married couples in the United States file for divorce. The divorce rates for the subsequent marriages that follow are even higher. The allowance for no fault divorces has pushed the numbers up significantly. With this increasing number of failing marriages, more and more couples have started to seek peaceful methods to resolve their otherwise distressing problems.
Divorce mediation comes to the rescue
The most popular among them being divorce mediation. Simply put, divorce mediation is you and your soon to be ex-spouse deciding the terms of your divorce and what’s best for you and your children, if you have any. In mediation, you and your spouse hire a neutral third party, the mediator, and they help you work through your differences so that you can end your marriage quietly and cost effectively. Unlike trials, there is minimal visit to the court and it is easy on your pockets. The amount of time and money you would otherwise spend in the court is almost reduced by half.
An unsurprisingly increasing number of couples have resorted to divorce mediators and are beginning to show faith in the results these wonder workers can craft out of even the most difficult divorces. This leads to the question all such couples want to know the answer to; can a mediator file divorce papers?
The important question
The answer is to the question of whether the divorce mediator can file the divorce documents with the court is generally “yes.” The mediator can file the divorce papers (draft and file the necessary court documents and Qualified Domestic Relations Orders “QDROs”), but that is when it is most helpful if the mediator is also a divorce and family law attorney who is very familiar with the forms and information needed and the procedures involved. The mediator can assist the parties in filing the papers with the court, including dissolution of marriage action, disclosure documents, and preparing the agreement, judgment, and final papers to be filed with the court.
The process is quicker and the information shared is kept confidential. While making compromises is inevitable in divorces, doing it through mediation will preserve your dignity and leave you satisfied and probably help you end your separation on good terms.
To learn more about the divorce process in California and how mediation can help, please visit our page, What is Divorce Mediation.
Gerald A. Maggio is a trained Orange County divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other family law matters.
