There are a multitude of reasons why individuals may deem it necessary to go their separate ways, but when they do, they are faced with numerous issues and problems that have not hitherto been considered.

When couples separate, the traditional method was for each spouse to hire an attorney and begin the arduous and emotionally charged process of deciding who gets what. The question of how assets are to be divided can be quite contentious over savings accounts, investments, furniture, and many other products of marriage. Even more emotionally charged are the issues of child custody and frequently pets are involved with the same intensity of feelings concerning them.

The good news is that in North Carolina mediation is required before a divorce case can go into court. This all started in the middle 90’s when it was decided to institute a process to settle cases prior to court dates. The objective is to help relieve the overcrowded courts and since so many cases were settled on the court house steps, it seemed like a good idea to formalize the process and make mediation mandatory.

The process of mediation is designed to focus upon those issues and problems and assist the parties to navigate through the various obstacles to reaching a fair and reasonable settlement. The advantages of mediation over trials in a courtroom are many, not the least of which is that no decisions are made by a judge or a jury. In mediation, no conclusions are reached except by the parties involved. If, however, no settlement can be reached in mediation, the parties right to be heard in court still exists.

Sometimes, though, mediation is not the best answer, but its pretty easy to find out if it offers good possibilities. We offer a no charge two hour consultation, the purpose of which is to determine if mediation is appropriate.

It should be noted that most mediations are successful and offer significant cost savings over conventional methods. At the same time it should be noted that Mediators cannot and will not give legal advice to the parties involved. We must confine our participation to simply assisting the parties in coming to agreements on all issues involved. When agreement is reached, the mediator will submit to the parties the agreements reached in writing. At that point, however, the agreement must be reviewed by an attorney licensed to practice law in North Carolina in order for the agreement to be enforceable.