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Mediation

Experienced West Chester Attorney Provides Family Law Mediation Services

Creative solutions for divorce and child custody through a cooperative process

If you are considering divorce or wrestling with child custody issues, it is important to know your options. You don’t have to have a pitched courtroom battle to settle your differences. Your divorce does not have to be painful, expensive and drawn-out. Devising a parenting plan doesn’t have to drain you emotionally and empty your bank account. At Voit Family Law, PLLC, attorney Catherine H. Voit offers family law mediation services that allow parties to work cooperatively to reach settlements on a variety of issues, including divorce. Mediation is designed to promote healthy discussion between parties leading to creative, cost-effective solutions that are beneficial to all concerned.

Is mediation appropriate in your case?

Divorce mediation is not for everyone. Mediation requires that each party feel free to speak candidly and respectfully, and that each party listen to the other. Parties must enter mediation in good faith and make an honest effort to work within the process. If there is a history of domestic violence in your marriage, or if an act of betrayal has destroyed all trust, mediation is probably not going to be fruitful. However, you risk very little by giving mediation a try, and there are many advantages when mediation succeeds.

How family law and divorce mediation works

Divorce mediation is a process in which a husband and wife go to a third party, called a mediator, who assists them in creating a divorce that works best for them. Instead of allowing a judge to decide how your divorce will unfold, divorce mediation puts the power in your hands to set the terms of their divorce, including:

  • Child custody arrangements
  • Child support issues
  • Division of property
  • Parental relocation
  • Alimony
  • Division of assets

As a certified mediator, Catherine Voit is specially trained to handle these issues. Catherine works with couples to create an agreement that is beneficial for both spouses, and once the agreement has been signed by them, the divorce will be finalized in court.

What are the advantages of divorce mediation?

Mediation is a process for reaching a settlement that avoids trial. It offers many advantages, allowing you to:

  • Set your own schedule — When you mediate your conflicts, you are not held back by a crowded court calendar. You schedule sessions on your own time, work at your own pace, and often save a great amount of valuable time.
  • Save on litigation costs — Because mediation is cooperative, you can avoid many of the pre-litigation costs of discovery and trial preparation, such as interrogatories, depositions, demands for documents, expert witness testimony, and court reporter services.
  • Work cooperatively — Taking a case to trial is adversarial by nature, so any animosity you feel toward your spouse is likely to be exacerbated. This does not bode well for life after divorce, especially when you need to confer on parenting matters. When you mediate your divorce, you have the opportunity to strengthen lines of communication and heal some of the wounds.
  • Have greater privacy — There is no public record of your mediation sessions the way there is at a trial.
  • Control the outcome — You won’t have absolute control, because mediation always involves compromise. But you’ll have greater control over the outcome than you would if you left the decision to a judge. In mediation, you don’t have to sign off on a settlement you don’t like; in litigation, you could get stuck with an adverse ruling from a judge.
  • Stand a better chance of post-settlement success — When a party receives an adverse judgment, bitterness over the result can prompt them to sabotage the court’s order. But when two parties have worked together to negotiate a solution, they have a greater investment in making the arrangement work.

For all of these reasons, family law and divorce mediation has proven to be a viable process for many parties struggling with important issues.

Contact Catherine today to schedule a family law mediation consultation

Call Catherine today at 484-881-3185 or contact her online to set up your initial consultation to determine if divorce mediation is right for you. Voit Family Law, PLLC provides mediation services for clients in the greater Chester County area, including Montgomery County and Delaware County.

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Attorney Catherine Voit

With over 30 years of experience as a family law attorney and a lifetime of compassion for her clients, Catherine has the knowledge, skill and ability to successfully solve your family law issues.

  • Chester County Bar Foundation
  • Board of Directors
  • BV® Distinguished™ Attorney
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