Couples with disagreements about various divorce issues may choose mediation rather than litigation. Mediation gives former spouses an opportunity to negotiate with one another and find a way to compromise.
Mediation can be a particularly valuable tool for those who still need to maintain a relationship after their divorce. Parents with children will find that mediation can work particularly well for their unresolved marital disputes.
What are some of the reasons that mediation is particularly good for parents who will share custody?
Mediation helps you address the big issues from your marriage
The issues that did the most damage to your relationship may not have much influence during court proceedings. However, they can play a role in the negotiation process during mediation. If you have to hash out certain details so that you can parent together, mediation can provide you with a safe space in which to have those discussions.
Mediation limits the exposure of your children to conflict
When parents divorce, children often suffer. No divorce is easy for children, but acrimonious divorces are particularly difficult to handle.
When you resolve issues about parenting plans and custody in mediation, your kids won’t have to make any statement about their custody preferences, which means they will stay mostly uninvolved in the conflict between you and your ex.
Mediation remains private
What you say in court could eventually get back to your children. Whether they hear about it from family members who attended court in your support or they eventually request transcripts when they get older, your children could learn embarrassing or relationship-damaging details that you and your spouse would rather keep to yourselves.
When you resolve these matters through mediation, what you discuss remains confidential and therefore will not affect your future relationship with your children. Recognizing that divorce mediation can help you on a path to a better future makes it worth exploring further.
