The presents are unwrapped, the relatives gone home, the credit cards maxed out, the holiday season is winding down. The most wonderful time of the year?
Maybe for some people. But for those people who feel trapped in an unhappy marriage, the holidays are often one of the most difficult times of the year. And the extra expenses that pile up this time of year make divorce seem that much less affordable.
So what to do? One good option is divorce mediation. Using a mediator to get divorced is way less expensive than going to a lawyer. In divorce mediation, the couple meets with one person who helps them come to a fair agreement that both people can live with. Instead of each person hiring his/her own lawyer and paying their high hourly rates for each meeting, each email, and each telephone call between the lawyers, the divorcing couple uses one mediator at a lower hourly rate to get the job done. Studies show that divorce through mediation can cost $7,500 from start to finish as compared to ten times that amount -- $75,000 – when both husband and wife hire their own lawyers.
But is cheaper better? In this case, it is. Divorce mediation is not only cheaper than litigation, it is also faster, more private - no public record in court, meetings are confidential - and better for the post-divorce relationship.
No question that divorce is an extra expense. But staying in an unhappy marriage has high costs as well. Before you write off divorce as something you can’t afford right now, consider divorce mediation.
- Randi M. Albert
Maybe for some people. But for those people who feel trapped in an unhappy marriage, the holidays are often one of the most difficult times of the year. And the extra expenses that pile up this time of year make divorce seem that much less affordable.
So what to do? One good option is divorce mediation. Using a mediator to get divorced is way less expensive than going to a lawyer. In divorce mediation, the couple meets with one person who helps them come to a fair agreement that both people can live with. Instead of each person hiring his/her own lawyer and paying their high hourly rates for each meeting, each email, and each telephone call between the lawyers, the divorcing couple uses one mediator at a lower hourly rate to get the job done. Studies show that divorce through mediation can cost $7,500 from start to finish as compared to ten times that amount -- $75,000 – when both husband and wife hire their own lawyers.
But is cheaper better? In this case, it is. Divorce mediation is not only cheaper than litigation, it is also faster, more private - no public record in court, meetings are confidential - and better for the post-divorce relationship.
No question that divorce is an extra expense. But staying in an unhappy marriage has high costs as well. Before you write off divorce as something you can’t afford right now, consider divorce mediation.
- Randi M. Albert
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