Some people with young children decide to stay in unhappy marriages out of concern for those children. Others may eventually obtain the motivation they need to file for divorce because of their children. They don’t want to continue exposing them to constant fights or modeling an unhealthy relationship dynamic for them.
A New Jersey divorce involving minor children is inevitably more complex than a divorce with no children still living at home. Adults need to address custody arrangements and support matters in addition to basic property division concerns. It is quite common for divorcing parents in New Jersey to disagree about financial and parenting matters in the early stages of divorce. They may benefit from attending mediation to resolve those disagreements.
Mediation can lead to a more peaceful divorce process
When the adults in a family know that they will soon have a sit-down negotiation session in which they can address various disputes, they may have an easier time keeping things amicable in the interim. The more that parents fight with one another, the more difficult the divorce usually becomes for their children. High-conflict divorces tend to be more devastating for children and can cause longer-lasting emotional and social consequences. When parents resolve things in mediation, they shield their children from conflict. They may also have an easier time repairing their dynamic and maintaining a positive relationship in the future.
Mediation can keep costs lower
The children in the family will likely be very sensitive to a drop in their standard of living triggered by parental divorce. Using the same income to support two households usually means that some sacrifices must occur. The more that parents spend on divorce, the longer it will take to bounce back from the financial impact of the divorce.
Mediation does involve an extra expense when compared with other divorces. However, the cost to pay a mediator can return massive dividends in the form of reduced divorce expenses. Divorce litigation is almost invariably more costly than mediation leading to an uncontested divorce filing. Couples who can set their own terms and keep the cost of the divorce process low can reduce the lasting economic harm that the end of their marriage may have for them and the children in the family.
If mediation is successful, parents get to control the terms of their divorce, maintain their privacy and reduce what they pay in the process. Putting the children first during a divorce often requires that parents consider alternative approaches to traditional litigation.