Please choose a question to the left to view answer.

Even angry people can mediate an effective and equitable agreement through our services. The solution is having a skilled mediator who can guide the process and help redirect negative feelings into positive resolutions.

Additionally, the mediator will place emphasis on both parents feeling safe and understood throughout mediation.

Mediation fosters an atmosphere of working together to reach an equitable, Child-centric parenting solution for you and your Children. Throughout the process we work on building trust and discuss the importance of cooperative parenting for the happy and healthy development of your Children. Both parents are always fully in control of the decisions they make for their children and themselves. Parents jointly work together to create their parenting plan. Mediation is much less stressful and harmful to Children and parents and is significantly more affordable than litigation (at an average savings of 80% as compared to a contested divorce involving attorneys and others).

Hiring attorneys and going to court is an entirely different process in which parents no longer work together cooperatively, but in an adversarial manner. Parents are referred to as the “Petitioner” and the “Respondent” and a host of professionals are typically appointed by the court to determine how you and your children will live for the remainder of their childhood. Often times allegations are made that result in counter-allegations by the responding party. A downward and destructive spiral can be set in motion where families and previously loving bonds between parent and child are ripped apart. The stress, anxiety and fear is often times very detrimental to children and parents in addition to the severe financial implications of hiring attorneys and paying for Guardian ad Litem’s, expert witnesses, psychologists and many professionals.

Additionally, your ability to make decisions for your Children is effectively taken out of your hands and given to the state—the state then decides how much time you will spend with your child and the terms of how the time may be spent.

Mediation is confidential. What is said in mediation cannot be used in court later if mediation breaks down with the exceptions such as mentions of abuse, violence, death. The mediator will not pass information on to anyone else unless all parties agree. The mediator will do everything in his/her power to resist being brought to court for either party, including legal intervention for the mediator in resisting subpoenas.

Mediation does not require attorneys to be present or retained by either parent.

Mediation is available to divorcing and separating couples whether or not they have children. It is also available to extended family members like grandparents who are involved in a family dispute.

Mediators are thoroughly trained to fully prepare and submit to the court every document needed by the state to successfully file an uncontested divorce.

Specifically (and at a minimum) we create the following required documents for every divorce we mediate:

• New Hampshire Joint Parenting Plan
• New Hampshire Uniform Support Order
• New Hampshire Financial Affidavit for both parties
• New Hampshire Child Support Guidelines Worksheet
  (required even if no child support is being paid by agreement)
• New Hampshire Final Divorce Decree/Mediation Memorandum

Mediation focuses on keeping parents out of court to the largest extent allowable by law. To that end, only one parent is required to be present when the final parenting plan is submitted to the court, however, we recommend both parents attend the very brief hearing in the event the court has any questions regarding the parenting plan or other required state documents. Often times, parents appear only once in court for between 10 and 30 minutes. This is in contrast to multiple appearances for hours over months/years when involving attorneys and other professionals.

The time it takes to mediate an uncontested divorce greatly depends on the parents we work with. If both parents are fully participatory and take the time to complete required paperwork after our sessions, mediation of a divorce can be done in as little as 6 billable hours. Many divorce mediations take between 10-15 hours to complete.

One of the many benefits of mediation is that you can go as quickly or slowly as you like and you do not have to wait for months on end to meet with us, unlike scheduling your divorce with the Court (in some counties it can take 6 months or more to have your case heard).

Mediation is significantly more cost effective than typical divorce litigation. We estimate a savings of around 80% of the cost of litigation involving attorneys, Guardian ad Litems and other professionals. Please see Our Rates for detailed information on costs of our services.

At the conclusion of mediation we always advise our couples to consult separate attorneys because they will review everything you have agreed to and ensure your interests are protected (as will the mediator). Typically couples spend an hour or less to have their paperwork reviewed by attorneys.