In recent years, with the full support and encouragement of the Courts,
a number of alternatives to traditional divorce have been developed. These alternatives include mediation, arbitration,
and collaborative divorce. These alternatives are always less time consuming, less complicated, and far less expensive
than traditional divorce.
Mediation: In mediation, couples sit down together, in the presence of and with
the assistance of a neutral third party mediator (who may or may not be an attorney), in order to work out their own resolution
of any issues in dispute between them. Once they have resolved their outstanding issues, the parties then hire separate
attorneys for the purpose of reviewing (and sometimes modifying) the agreement that the parties reached during mediation and
then preparing the paperwork necessary in order for the parties to proceed to Court on an uncontested basis.
Arbitration: In arbitration, couples appear before a neutral third party arbitrator
(who may or may not be an attorney), in order to have the arbitrator decide for them the resolution of their issues.
Arbitration can either be binding or non-binding, depending on the agreement of the parties. Once the arbitrator
has decided the issues for them, the parties then hire separate attorneys for the purpose of reviewing (and sometimes modifying)
the arbitrator's decision and then preparing the paperwork necessary in order for the parties to proceed to Court on the basis
of the arbitrator's decision.
Collaborative Divorce: In collaborative divorce, couples sit down together,
in the presence of and with the assistance of a neutral third party collaborative divorce attorney (who is always an attorney
licensed to practice law), in order to work out a resolution of any issues in dispute between them. Once they have resolved
their issues, the collaborative divorce attorney then prepares all of the paperwork necessary for the parties to obtain their
divorce on a pro se uncontested basis.
Traditional divorce and the alternatives to traditional divorce each have costs and benefits associated
with them. The major benefit for traditional divorce is knowing that a Judge will ultimately decide the issues
for the parties when they can not otherwise come to agreement on their own, but that knowledge comes at the huge cost (in
terms of time, money, frustration, inconvenience, etc.) associated with traditional divorce proceedings. The major benefit
for both mediation and arbitration is that the parties are usually able to obtain a resolution of the issues in dispute between
them in a relatively quick and inexpensive manner, but the parties still thereafter have to hire their own attorneys to review
that resolution and prepare the paperwork necessary for them to proceed to Court in order to obtain a divorce based on that
resolution. The major benefit for collaborative divorce is that it greatly reduces the cost and simplifies the entire
divorce process, allowing the parties to deal with only one attorney for both the resolution of any issues in dispute between
them and in the preparation of the documents necessary to obtain a divorce.
During his career, Jay A. Yanavok, Esq. has helped hundreds of couples resolve their marital and separation
issues through alternatives to traditional divorce, including mediation, arbitration, and collaborative divorce. Whether
your matter requires the more complex traditional divorce proceedings or can be resolved through a quicker, less expensive
alternative is a decision that only you and your spouse can make. Jay can provide you and your spouse with the information
that both of you will need in order to make an informed and intelligent decision. Should one of the alternatives
to traditional divorce be right for you and your spouse, Jay is available to assist you as a mediator, an arbitrator, or a
collaborative divorce attorney so that you and your spouse can obtain a just, fair, quick, and cost-effective result.
