You may have heard stories about other couples’ terrible experiences with litigated divorce proceedings in a courtroom setting. And personally, you may have a demanding work schedule or pressing familial obligations that make regularly commuting for court appearances unmanageable. While you may know that your divorce is inevitable, you may be simply dreading the process of it all. Well, we would like you to know that you can take alternative divorce routes, namely, divorce mediation. With that being said, please read on to discover whether you and your soon-to-be former spouse can get a divorce without going to court, and how a seasoned New York City divorce mediator at Mark Wakim Law, can help execute this case without a hitch.
Can I get a divorce without going to a New York family court?
One of the most common alternative dispute resolutions is divorce mediation. With this method, you and your soon-to-be former spouse may conduct productive conversations and civilly negotiate your divorce-related terms, such as alimony, child custody, child support, and property division. All the while, your progress may be monitored by a neutral third-party mediator, who may even step in to diffuse any potential contentions.
And so, divorce mediation may be an ideal option for you and your soon-to-be former spouse if maintaining complete control over the final divorce judgment is your top priority. An added perk includes scheduling these sit-down conversations for times and in settings that work best for both of you. And also, the ability to pause this process at any time, should you require an emotional break or wish for an opportunity to reconcile and salvage your marriage.
Under what circumstances might my divorce require court intervention?
On paper, divorce mediation may appear far more beneficial than divorce litigation. But this may only be true for the right couple. That is, you and your soon-to-be former spouse must be on the same page, so to speak, for every last divorce-related term. If you cannot settle who has the right to keep inherited funds deposited in a joint bank account or used to purchase a shared asset, for example, this may be enough for your mediator to refer you to the New York family court.
Rest assured, the court may honor and follow the terms you already settled in your mediation sessions about your alimony, child custody, and child support, per the example mentioned above. This is so long as the terms are clear and complete, voluntarily agreed upon by the two of you (i.e., no coercion), not in violation of any laws or public policies (i.e., no fraud), and ultimately deemed as fair. And so, the judge may only give their final say on the unresolved property division dispute you presented to them, and then enforce a final divorce judgment.
Before you find yourself in an even worse position, you must retain legal representation from Mark Wakim Law One of the competent New York City matrimonial and family law attorneys from our law firm will guide you on what to do.
