Adding Divorce to your To-Do List

Nobody wants to add divorce to their to-do list – especially this time of year which can often feel overwhelming as it is.  In fact, many people who want out of their marriages view the divorce process as so daunting, they are afraid to begin.  They are unhappy in their relationships, but they worry that the divorce process will drain them emotionally and financially.  Yet, it doesn’t have to be that way.  In divorce mediation, we break down the issues of divorce into small steps so that it is possible to navigate through it all in a measured, doable way. 

At Westfield Mediation, we use our first client meeting to assess the couple’s needs.  In the next session, for couples with kids, we generally tackle dividing parenting schedules and responsibilities. After parenting, we go through the couple’s assets and debts and apportion them in a fair way that ensures that everyone can live within a reasonable budget.  Finally, we address issues like alimony and child support. Because each couple controls their own schedule, they can move as quickly, or as slowly as they feel comfortable.  By working step by step through a list of issues, the emotional and financial stresses become more manageable, and we reach an agreement that is fair for everyone. 

For couples interested in getting divorced, putting divorce on your to-do list is a difficult, but necessary step to getting to where you want to be.  Using mediation makes the process more manageable and easier to check off the list.

- Randi M. Albert