… is a recognized process designed to help a family find solutions, when they cannot reach agreement about various family related issues.

With its primary focus being finding a solution, mediation sets out to achieve a workable system of resolution involved with major or minor decisions. We have meditated a variety of topics including: care for children, financial disputes, challenges with responsibility distribution, and animal custody. The goal is to achieve the best solution for all parties involved.

It is both a court and a non-court-based activity that is not designed to provide counseling or assign blame for the disputes, nor will the mediator have any role in making the decision for the parties.

While you may include your attorney in your meeting with the mediator, be aware that this will not be a courtroom setting … it is much less formal. Mediation is designed to provide each party to have an opportunity to work with an unbiased and impartial counselor who is focused on developing a solution that works best for BOTH parties.

Because there is no off-the-shelf solution to providing the best answer when there are tough decisions to make, be prepared to help construct one that works for you, your spouse, your children, and the specific circumstance that you all find yourself in.

Enter mediation with ideas on what you would like to see happen, but also an open mind to your spouse’s interests and more importantly, what is ultimately the best solution for the children.

Be prepared that the ultimate outcome may be an agreement that doesn’t meet all of of your initial preferences, but one that provides a compromise that works for you both. Such an agreement is more likely to stand the test of time and provide a forum that reduces stress on the children and parents as the family seeks to re-build its life in this new direction.

At HarmonyUs, we provide a good mix of compassionate and constructive expertise that results in acceptable and ultimately workable agreements for each party.