Divorce Mediation

Going through a divorce may be very costly. Divorce mediation services help you coordinate a fair resolution for your family without paying an “arm and a leg” for the services. Divorce mediation with a counseling professional may save you thousands of dollars on the overall costs of divorce and is often completed in a respectable amount of time congruently adjusted to your unique situations and outlook for your restructured family and personal lifestyle. Divorce mediation helps each person in the divorce organize import aspects during the family restructuring phase such as parenting time, children’s activities, and financial obligations, among many more. Divorce mediation service is not covered by health insurances. Contact us to schedule your initial mediation session at the White Oak.

What is Divorce Mediation and what are the benefits of doing it?

In divorce mediation, you and your spouse hire a third party to handle many aspects of the divorce most especially, parenting plans and finances. This neutral mediator, a third party, is responsible for being fair and finding the balance between the points of interest within the divorce. Much a like couples therapy the therapist is first and foremost attuned to the relationship and not one or the other person within it and thus remains not obliged to support one person. Typically divorcing couples meet weekly or bi-weekly in an effort to discuss and resolve issues in your divorce in the most fair, equitable, and economically viable manner. Mediation is private and confidentiality is a must given the private nature of certain aspects.

Another benefit beyond the relational dynamics and economic viability is that agreements made in mediation are client-driven and drafted by the couple with the support of the mediator, as opposed to the litigation process and the courts. The couple may creates their own divorce decree or chose to use documents furnished with the mediator as assistance for their lawyer if they so choose to do so.

Yet another benefit is that the process of mediation may improve communication between you and your soon to be ex-spouse, helping you work through current stressful communication points, vastly enhance your communication and work-ability while also avoiding future conflicts.

Lastly, You may still have a lawyer to give you legal advice if you choose to have the representation in court.

What to expect from your mediator and the process of mediating?

The mediator is a just and neutral professionally licensed counselor with experience in mediating divorces. The mediator doesn’t make decisions for you. They will assists each of you to; work together cooperatively, to define issues, negotiate settlements, and generate fair agreements based upon your unique and personal situational circumstances. The mediator will also educate in communication and conflict resolution techniques when needed to further expedite the process and ensure a qualitative and healthy experience and more often than not a “non-contested divorce”.

In non contested divorces in Illinois, family court requires the following to be addressed and agreed upon in order to ensure a non-contested divorce.

1. Children, including Parental Responsibility and Parenting Time
2. Division of Assets & Liabilities
3. Child Support
4. Spousal Support

In mediation at the White Oak Institute, these issues are covered, in weekly 60 minute sessions until both of you feel that all agreements are fair and equitable at which time our process may conclude and each spouse is given a written Mediation and Understanding Report from the mediator which can then be taken and filed with the court in order to obtain your divorce.

Are you and your spouse good candidates for Mediation?

 If both you and your spouse are; open in communicating with a third party, willing to come in weekly or bi-weekly for hour long sessions, and you have a high desire to spend less time in the process of divorcing both physically and mentally then you may be a strong candidate for divorce mediation with the White Oak Institute. Divorce mediation is an excellent alternative for people who met the above requirements. Please contact the White Oak Institute at our contact page if you are interested in utilizing our service.