Mediation is a voluntary method you can use to resolve disagreements with the assistance of a neutral, trained person. When you and your spouse have a family law problem, you can work together, with a mediator, to gather and exchange information, identify issues, create solutions, and create a complete agreement on all of these issues. Although most mediation involves marital separation or divorce, mediation is also used to create pre-marital agreements and domestic partner agreements.


Because family law has become increasingly complex, you may find that you cannot or do not want to represent yourself and need the help of a lawyer and/or therapist when you decide to separate or divorce. Financial and tax issues can be complicated and few non-lawyers are fully aware of all the issues that need to be considered. Emotional issues and communication problems can make direct, unassisted negotiations between you and your spouse very difficult. Yet, the traditional adversarial system is expensive, often public, sometimes slow, and can distance you and your spouse even further by the positional bargaining that is the basis of the traditional system, and by reducing your chances to talk directly with each other.

Mediation with a trained family lawyer/mediator has many advantages. I am an experienced family lawyer and can help you understand the legal issues and guide you through the settlement process. All issues raised by separation and/or marital termination, including custody and visitation, child support, spousal support, division of property and debts, and the costs of the process can be handled effectively in mediation. You and your spouse share my costs rather than individually paying for two attorneys. I can answer questions as they arise and offer various options that you might want to consider in reaching a resolution. Because I meet with both you and your spouse simultaneously, issues are resolved more quickly. Furthermore, you, rather than the system or process, set the pace at which the mediation proceeds. Perhaps most important, in mediation you can work directly with your spouse to create a fair agreement.


There is no way to predict the cost of mediation in advance, because the cost is directly related to the complexity of issues in a case, and the motivation and ability of you and your spouse to resolve them. It is generally safe to say that a mediated agreement will cost less than one litigated or negotiated by attorneys.

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