Ocala Divorce Lawyer Blog

I often hear tales of horror and woe from a prospective client who has talked to a friend that heard that a friend of theirs about someone going through a divorce that got cheated out of everything, and was left penniless after the divorce. We have to remember that each divorce like each family is unique. Unfortunately, one of the biggest drawbacks of having a trial besides the cost involved is that when you ask the Judge to decide your case, you give up all control to make decisions regarding the outcome. At Anne E. Raduns, PA we try use all forms of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) to settle your case, especially informal negotiations and mediation before taking a case to trial. There are many good reasons why our firm does this.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of ADR?

The court system uses an adversarial model. You're taking a position against your spouse, and you're asking the lawyers to fight it out for you, with the Judge acting as the ultimate decider. The lawyers in these battles often use tactics that are aggressive to win - this without a doubt will increase hostility between the divorcing spouses. To the victor goes the spoils! That's not what divorce should be about.

Continue reading "Is There a Way to Keep My Divorce Less Expensive and Out of Court? " »

Anyone that has filed for divorce knows that before you can go to trial the court will send the parties to Mediation. Why mediation you ask when, "we can't agree on anything." That seems like a pretty reasonable question. My assurance is always, if the case settles at mediation, it's more cost effective for you and your spouse. It is certainly less expensive to spend 4 hours at mediation than to spend 4 hours at trial. At mediation you have control over your case but at trial the Judge has complete control over your case. You may or may not like what the Judge decides. Why give the Judge that much control?

Here are the questions I hear most frequently:

What is mediation?

Mediation is a method of dispute resolution that is an alternative to having a courtroom trial. It is the process involves the parties meeting with a trained, certified mediation who attempts to help them reach an agreement. The mediator tries to help them reach their own agreement, but does not force either party to agree. In mediation, both parties should make a good faith attempt to agree on issues of the marriage, including a parenting plan, time-sharing plan and property division, for example. Neither party should feel that the "agreement" was forced upon him or her. People who reach an agreement together are more likely to follow what they've agree to. If it is not possible to reach an agreement, another form of resolution, such as trial, is used.

Continue reading "Mediation: So the Court is ordering you to mediate your divorce" »