At Alternative Divorce Solutions, so many of our clients come to their divorce mediation consultation without knowing what to expect. Many times, it is their first marriage and therefore their first divorce. The consultation appointment can be stressful and quite frankly, frightening. To help ease the fear of the unknown, we have created this list of what to expect during divorce mediation. We hope that this is helpful to you in understanding the divorce mediation process in Orange County, and specifically at Alternative Divorce Solutions.
1. The consultation
The free, one-hour consultation appointment will give you and your spouse the chance to meet one of our divorce mediation attorneys in person. At this appointment, one of our divorce mediation attorneys will explain the process of divorce mediation in detail and answer any questions you may have. You will also be quoted your flat fee for the divorce mediation process.
2. The filing
After your consultation, our team will begin preparing the filing for divorce. This will legally initiate your divorce with the Orange County Family Court. We will create the Petition and e-mail it out to you and your spouse for signatures. Then, we will send it off to the court.
3. The service
Once your petition for dissolution of marriage has been filed with the court, we will serve it on the respondent. In mediation, it does not matter who is petitioner and who is respondent. This personal service takes place in the privacy of our office and is confidential. From this date, your divorce will be finalized as soon as six months, one day. Keep in mind that your divorce mediation process will most likely be done much sooner.
4. Your mediation appointment(s)
You and your spouse will both attend either one or a series of divorce mediation appointments. Here, you will openly discuss issues pertaining to your home, finances, investments, and children. Your divorce mediator will help you and your spouse have productive, respectful conversations. You do not have to agree to anything you don’t feel is fair.
5. Your Agreement
After your divorce mediation appointment(s), your divorce mediator will draft your agreement for your review. You and your spouse can take as much time as you need to read the agreement over and negotiate changes to it if necessary.
6. Signing and filing
Once you and your spouse are comfortable with the draft, you will make an appointment to come in and meet with our notary to sign your agreement. When you are done, your agreement goes off to the court for filing and processing. After this, you are all done with the process!!
Depending on how complicated your case is, the process outlined in this blog may take more or less time. At Alternative Divorce Solutions, we customize the process to meet our clients’ needs. We commit to being by your side every step of the way to make sure your concerns and questions are always addressed in a timely manner.
Want to know what the divorce mediation process will look like for you?