Can I postpone my decision about whether to choose mediation or trial? Can I change my mind later?
As divorce mediation becomes ever more popular, misunderstandings abound over what distinguishes a mediation from a formal court proceeding. This is partly due to the fact that many state laws allow anyone who has taken some basic certification courses to advertise themselves as bona fide divorce mediators.
If you need a divorce coach, someone who will help you get your financial affairs in order and offer you their shoulder to cry on, Connecticut offers a large talent pool for your consideration. Once you decide on how you want to handle your divorce, there is a vast array of choices for divorce representation and mediation.
No matter how you decide to proceed, any divorce settlement agreement will be presented to a judge for approval. For too many customers, the judge’s prompt thumbs down on their “quick and dirty divorce” undertaken with an unqualified mediator will put them right back to the starting gate, possibly bereft of some significant financial, temporal and emotional resources. At that point, both parties hobble over to lawyer’s offices and begin a protracted rematch.
Don’t let easily preventable missteps dictate the course of your divorce! The right way to approach this dilemma is to call for an appointment with Hirsch Legal, LLC, where you can get the best possible expert advice on what method is likely to work for your situation.
Hirsch Legal, LLC offers both cost-effective divorce mediation and top-flight legal representation, but we do not switch freely from one role to the other. Once you or your spouse has retained our firm as an attorney, we are ethically bound to dance only with the person who brought us to the dance.
Be very leery when your spouse tells you, “I’ve hired an attorney, so you don’t need one. She’ll draw up all the paperwork, and all you have to do is sign on the dotted line.”
An attorney presiding over a divorce mediation must maintain a neutral stance. While she will guide you toward a settlement that meets all legal requirements in the state of Connecticut, she cannot offer you legal advice designed to safeguard your interests over your spouse’s.
Mediation is an appropriate choice for people who are not fighting over asset and debt division, who are in basic agreement regarding custody and financial matters, and who have somehow managed to maintain the ability to engage in civil and constructive discourse with each other. If you both know more or less what you want from a settlement, a qualified family law attorney can help you reach an agreement with a minimum of fuss and expenses.
If you feel you need legal advice during your mediation, whether because you feel the emerging settlement is not fair to you, or because you don’t understand the financial implications of some accounting mechanisms, or because you don’t think you’re getting your points across effectively, you don’t necessarily need to wind up the mediation and seek to try your luck in a trial; nor should you just swallow a bad clause for the sake of moving the process along. Many divorcing spouses hire a aconsulting attorney (also known as “review counsel” or “legal coach”) to help them prepare for mediation, and to review agreements and advise them before they are finalized. It is also not unusual to have a consulting attorney attend some negotiating sessions, in order to help you make sure your rights are protected.
Whether you need a courtroom advocate, a mediator, or a consulting attorney, Hirsch Legal, LLC should be your first stop on the road to a successful divorce settlement. Our Shelton office is just minutes away from New Haven and Fairfield County’s main urban centers: Bridgeport, Westport, Danbury, Stamford, Waterbury, Milford. Call or visit us today!