From a blissful and happy start of a lifetime together, that memorable day of finally marrying your beloved will be forever etched in your heart and mind. Yet, that may not be the case for some. Many things can happen in the course of a marriage. Forms of abuse, fights, financial issues, in-law meddling and other domestic problems can cause the marriage to fail. More often than not, marriages today are ending up in divorce.

Divorce is one of the more popular means of dissolving a marriage today. Divorce laws are very diverse and, as a matter of fact, vary from one country to another. The common denominator, though, is the presence of a judge or a legal authoritative figure to facilitate the process. There are many issues that may arise from a divorce. Some of them include spousal support, distribution of assets and the very painful child custody. In contrast with annulment, a divorce only terminates a married couple’s marital status and does not nullify the marriage itself.

In countries where divorce is applicable, there are different types and various means of settling it. No-fault divorce does not require an allegation or proof of fault from either party. At-fault divorce requires proof by one party that the other one has committed an act (or grounds) incompatible to the marriage, thus termination is sought. In the United States, New York is the only state where faults are required for a divorce. Summary divorce is applied when the marriage has met requirements such as a short term of marriage, no children, minimal or no real property or has reached a certain threshold. Uncontested divorce has simply both parties agreeing to the divorce with no issues on property, children and support issues.

Divorce mediation is a good alternative for the traditional divorce proceedings as both parties sit down with a mediator. The most important aspect of divorce mediation is that the mediator is neutral to both parties; thus he or she cannot give any advice to either party or act as a lawyer. Most of the divorce mediators in New York are former state divorce attorneys. They are very knowledgeable of the legal aspects that divorce entails and can greatly help reduce the cost of legal fees.

There are many benefits of divorce mediation. One of them is it being less costly than the traditional way of settling the divorce in courts, as the parties are already cognizant of the terms and settlement they want to have. It, in fact, saves the parties involved both the time and money for the usual long process of divorce. The estranged spouses are also not made to do anything that makes them uncomfortable. Whatever the result may be, it is derived from agreeable terms for both parties. In court, cases are handled by a judge, an impersonal stranger, who just takes insufficient time to hear out the case and mettle out a decision, with a party often feeling cheated. Mediators help the couple see through their differences and work out a ‘win-win’ situation.

The process is done outside of the courtroom with the parties agreeing to a meeting with the mediator. The session generally lasts from 1-2 hours. The usual documents are asked for the initial meetings of the divorce mediation process. Some of the documents include proof of marriage and financial information. After reviewing the documents, the mediators open the discussions on how to arrive at a compromise on various issues that may have risen, while at the same time, keeping the parties involved in focus and moving forward. They also provide pertinent information about the court system and various court resolutions. He or she might also provide options that the parties may not have considered before. When an agreement is reached, the mediator drafts it for review by both parties and their attorneys if necessary.

Today, divorce mediation in New York and in other cities in the United States is becoming more and more popular than the traditional divorce litigation process. This can be attributed to the economic turmoil that the world has been experiencing for the past few years. Another reason for their popularity is the relatively easy marriage dissolution process as compared to court battles. This saves the couple public humiliation by having to fight publicly in court.

Note: A New York divorce mediator is a certified professional. They complete a basic training of forty hours in the field to become a divorce mediator.

New York has a huge directory of divorce mediators available. With offices in Long Island and Manhattan and other parts of the state, couples seeking for divorce would not have any problems in getting a mediator that can help them through this difficult time.