Washington Divorce Mediation

Beneficiaries of Washington Divorce Mediation

• Divorced couples with disputes or issues after the Decree has been granted
• Unmarried couples who have taken a decision to separate, inclusive of LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) couples
• Married couples who desire a separation, but have not taken a decision regarding divorce
• Married couples who have finalized the decision to divorce

The couples who agree with each other are certainly the beneficiaries of mediation. However, this process is designed in such a way that irrespective of existing differences, any couple can take benefit of the process.

Advantages of Washington Divorce Mediation

• Respects self-determination
• Provides empowerment
• Controls economical and emotional costs of the divorce procedure
• Divorcing parties maintain control over the process
• Prevents public disclosure of personal issues
• Provides an informal context
• Is limited by time and convenient
• Reinforces commitment to an agreement
• Does not focus on the past, but concentrates on the present and future
• As conflict is decreased, children are benefited
• Lays down a foundation for continued co-parenting
• Safeguards relations in family
• Assists person in emerging from a divorce with intact self-respect

Training workshop on Divorce Mediation

The training workshop employs an interactive format and is inclusive of simulations, discussions, lectures, demonstrations, videotapes of mediations and role-play. All the fundamental content areas of divorce mediation like parenting arrangements, support and property division are included. Some of the skills honed in this workshop are as follows –

• Writing an efficient Memorandum of Agreement
• Beginning the practice as a mediator and the mode of marketing the practice
• Standards of practice and mediation ethics
• How the value of mediation can be enhanced by co-mediation
• Efficient caucusing
• Laws related to mediation
• Screening for domestic violence
• The styles of mediation
• The emotional aspect of divorce and how it has an effect on mediation
• Examples for understanding conflict

ACR (Association for Conflict Resolution) is the national professional association of mediators as well as other ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) professionals. The Family Section of the ACR has approved the comprehensive divorce mediation training of some organizations. This training lasts for 40 hours. The training requirements essential to apply for Practitioner Member status in ACR are met with by such workshops. Those who have full attendance at this workshop and who successfully complete the workshop are issued a Certificate of Completion. Generally, the number of participants in such workshops is limited so that they get more chance for role play.

Accelerated Mediation

An intensive mediation process that is generally over in 2 days is termed as an Accelerated Mediation (A.M.). The design of A.M. is such that the opposing parties reach results that are mutually agreeable within a concentrated time period. It has been recorded that A.M. is particularly successful in divorce and business mediation. A crucial part of A.M. is advance preparation. The divorcing parties are helped by the mediators to identify and collect the information that might be required while explaining their decision in the mediation session. At the discretion of the parties, lawyers might be present at the session.

Divorce Papers