We all know someone with the nightmare divorce story: they spent six figures on their attorney and the process took multiple years, with a result that left them unhappy.

Choosing to mediate your divorce at the outset, with the support of a financial neutral, can spare you and your family some of the emotional turmoil of a long, expensive, ugly divorce. At Wescott Law, Attorney Kathrine Lacey has adapted her collaborative skills, Mosten Guthrie mediation training, and her decade plus of divorce litigation into a mediation practice that avoids many divorce litigation pitfalls.

As a mediator, Kathrine is not serving in her attorney capacity. Instead, she serves as a neutral voice to guide you and your spouse through the negotiations of property distribution, alimony, child support, and parenting schedules.

Kathrine requires complete financial transparency to work with a divorcing couple. This means that the parties select a trained financial neutral to help them gather their financial disclosures and obtain valuations of property. A trained financial neutral is completely neutral, meaning they don’t take sides or give legal advice. Instead, they review income, expenses, assets, debts, and other financial matters so both parties have a clear, accurate picture of their money.

While Kathrine is available to schedule a call or a brief meeting for any differences that may arise during the financial discovery process, ultimately, the goal is to come to the table with a full understanding of the marriage’s assets and debts. This ensures that each person is able to make informed decisions about their financial future.

The benefits of mediation with a financial neutral before filing for divorce can be significant:

1. Control over the timeline
   Many of those drawn-out divorce cases you hear about are the result of lack of timely financial disclosure and the difficulty of obtaining time on the court calendar. Mediation at Wescott Law is scheduled to meet your needs.
2. Control over the results
   In mediation, you decide on what and where you are willing to compromise. No one else is making a decision that is going to impact the rest of your life after only a few hours of arguments in court. In court, there is little room to be creative. When mediating your full settlement, you can include provisions that work for your unique family structure.
3. Complete transparency
   Through working with the financial neutral, all assets and debts will be discovered and valued before any negotiations begin. The “big picture” of your finances will be formatted to be easily understood. There is time in the mediation process to take breaks, and consult with other necessary professionals such as accountants and personal financial advisors and come back to the table with the information necessary to make decisions you can live with. Starting the process with a commitment to transparency minimizes the anxiety of the unknown.
4. The costs are generally significantly lower
   The parties usually split the cost of the mediator’s time as well as the fee for the financial neutral. Because negotiations do not begin until full financial disclosure, the mediator’s time is used constructively for fully informed negotiations.
5. The process is confidential
   The mediation is subject to confidentiality, unlike litigation which is conducted in open courtrooms. You can exchange creative ideas without fear of it being used against you in a courtroom.
6. Communication must be respectful
   Disrespect at the mediation table is not tolerated. Kathrine is trained in the Mosten Guthrie mediation technique and uses those skills to support open and kind communication even during the most difficult topics.

Take control of your future and navigate the dissolution of your divorce with experienced professionals. You can end your marriage and preserve your integrity. Contact us today for a consultation.