The Potential Benefits of Mediation in a High Asset Divorce

You’re getting ready to divorce your partner, but you’re not sure what’s going to happen to your portfolio of assets. Whether or not you anticipate a big fight, it’s important to prepare for any possible outcome. The more money you and your partner have, the more you have at stake when it’s time to negotiate a division of assets. A growing number of couples are discovering that mediation is an effective and valuable tool for their divorce.

When divorce is on the table, you deserve high-quality legal representation with your best interests in mind. Call Kirk Drennan Law at 205-803-3500 to schedule a consultation now.

Maintain Your Privacy

One of the biggest benefits of mediation is the privacy it offers. If you and your partner have substantial assets, it’s likely that there is some public interest in your relationship. If you don’t want the details of your court battle to become gossip fodder, you’ll be happy to know that mediation offers a private and confidential solution. What is discussed and agreed upon during mediation is not public record.

Spend Less Time and Money

For many couples, mediation saves time and money. When there are lots of assets at stake, both sides can often afford to drag on a divorce for months or even years. This benefits neither party and often results in a settlement similar to what you would have reached in mediation. With mediation, you can make every effort to come to a fair and mutually agreeable settlement. If you cannot reach an agreement, you can still take your divorce to the courtroom.

Keep Control of the Situation

You’ve worked hard to build up your assets, and you likely want to maintain control over what happens to them. If your divorce plays out in the courtroom, you give up a lot of that control. Final decisions regarding your divorce settlement lay with the judge, who may or may not make a choice that makes either party happy.

You could end up with even less than you’d expected. Mediation is not legally binding, so you aren’t forced to agree to anything that doesn’t suit you. The order is not legally binding until it is drawn up and presented to the court.

This means that you and your ex-partner can opt-out at any time and proceed with court preparations. Since both sides have a vested interest in keeping the battle out of the courtroom, there is plenty of motivation to sort issues out in mediation. While it may take several rounds of negotiation, you keep total control at all times.

Protect Your Co-Parenting Relationship

For many people, this is the greatest benefit of mediation. If you and your ex-partner have children together, you will still be in each other’s lives for years to come. An expensive and lengthy court battle could obliterate your relationship and make it nearly impossible for you to co-parent effectively.

Mediation is a more agreeable—if not actually friendly—resolution to the issues in your divorce. It maintains that you and your ex-partner have the same end goals in mind and can work together to resolve them. By discussing what you want, rather than attacking each other in the courtroom, you can protect the coparenting part of your relationship. Not only does this make life less stressful for you, but it is also a huge benefit for your children.

Your children will be able to see their parents maintain an amicable relationship and communicate in a friendly manner during pickups, dropoffs, and shared events. This sets a great example for healthy relationships and avoids many of the issues that children have after contentious divorces.

Mediation may be the solution for you. It does not always work in highly contentious divorces where one side is more focused on hurting the other party than on reaching a resolution.  Discuss it with your Birmingham divorce attorney now to get their advice.

Get the Legal Representation You Deserve with Kirk Drennan Law

The team at Kirk Drennan Law is here for you every step of your divorce, from filing the initial paperwork to negotiating a fair settlement in mediation or the courtroom. You just have to take the first step. Call us at 205-803-3500 or contact us online to get started.