North Brunswick Attorney Provides Effective Divorce Mediation Services

Experienced New Jersey lawyer works to facilitate agreement

Divorce and litigation are stressful processes. Combining the two can seem overwhelming for spouses and their children. Fortunately, an effective option exists for New Jersey individuals who want to avoid courtroom stress when their marriage ends. At Deborah A. Rose, PC in North Brunswick, I deliver professional mediation services during divorces and other family law matters. Using the knowledge I've gained as a New Jersey lawyer, I offer comprehensive guidance through this alternative dispute resolution process to help parties settle issues such as custody, child support, alimony and property division.

Neutral mediator saves divorcing spouses time and money

Whether you're close to a marital settlement agreement or far apart on divorce terms, a mediator helps you dissolve your marriage while avoiding unnecessary problems. There are significant advantages to the mediation process, including:

• Control. Instead of working on the court's schedule and dealing with their procedural requirements, spouses decide when to talk and what needs to be discussed.

• Cost savings. Litigation costs can mount at a frightening speed, potentially causing financial problems that last long after the marriage has concluded. During mediation, parties may be able to limit what they spend.

• Privacy and stress relief. A public courtroom is an uncomfortable place to discuss the personal issues often associated with divorce. As a mediator, I allow clients to speak openly in a private, dignified setting.

New Jersey recognizes how useful mediation is when a married couple breaks up, so the courts sometimes require mandatory economic divorce mediation. Whether you're seeking assistance on your own or at the court's direction, I have the experience and knowledge to provide valuable support.

Dedicated firm outlines the divorce mediation process

I have a deep background in family law that gives me the ability to suggest equitable solutions to the trickiest disagreements. Although as a mediator, I am a neutral third party who is not permitted to provide legal counsel, my unbiased approach helps everyone better understand the key legal issues. I work diligently to ensure that consensus is reached so that both spouses can move forward, confident that the outcome meets their needs.

Experienced family lawyer facilitates divorcing spouses in the North Brunswick area in this alternative method of resolution

Under the best of circumstances, divorce is a stressful process. When couples litigate issues before a judge, the emotional toll and the expense increase rapidly. Fortunately, there are ways to simplify your divorce and reduce costs while still achieving your goals for your future. For many couples, mediation is a useful tool for removing impediments to a settlement on important issues such as child custody, child support, spousal support and the division of marital property.

Courts may require divorcing couples to engage in mediation. Whether it's required or voluntary, however, mediation involves an impartial third party- the mediator- who meets with the spouses to work out a voluntary agreement but does not represent either party or advocate for their concerns. Over the course of one or several sessions, the mediator listens to the spouses, assesses the issues before them, and tries to guide them toward a mutually acceptable resolution but cannot impose an agreement on the couple. They need to reach a consensus.

Because of my experience as both a litigator and mediator, I am able to spot issues that need to be addressed in order to fully ensure that parties are able to understand their rights and have knowledge of assets and liabilities that need dividing and of support matters that need to be resolved.

Skilled representation protects your interests in mediation

Even if you are mediating your case, you will want to have an attorney review the agreement and to represent you in court for the divorce. The divorce, itself, is not mediated and the paperwork that you have to complete in order to get a divorce is complicated even if you have reached an agreement about support, custody and property division through mediation. The mediator, generally, does not prepare a Marital Settlement Agreement (MSA). Instead, the mediator will prepare a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that you will need to convert to an MSA before you go into the court for a divorce. An attorney can help you with that part of the process. Before you consider mediation, you should speak with an attorney who has represented clients in this process. Mediators are not allowed to dispense legal advice, and, in fact, many divorce mediators throughout the country are not even attorneys so they might not fully understand the legal implications of a proposed settlement. At Deborah A. Rose, P.C., I help to ensure that you are fully prepared for your mediation sessions. As an attorney who often represents clients who are in the process of mediation, I review your progress during the mediation process, carefully scrutinize all proposed agreements, make suggestions for you to take to mediation sessions, prepare the final MSA, draft the Divorce Complaint and appear on your behalf in court for the divorce. If a client wants me to do so, I accompany you to mediation, as well, and help you navigate the process, provide assistance and suggestions while you are going through mediation so you can achieve a mutually acceptable, cost-effective resolution of your divorce issues.

Because I also have experience as a mediator, when I am working as your attorney I am able to understand the process and help you as well as the mediator smoothly undertake the process. 

Contact a trustworthy family law mediator for strong guidance

At Deborah A. Rose, P.C., I provide professional mediation services to resolve all issues regarding divorce, property settlement, support and custody issues. Call 732-305-4624 or contact me online to schedule a free consultation. My office is in North Brunswick.