Divorce Without Court: A Guide to Mediation and Collaborative Divorce Book

Thanks to highprofile celebrity separations, TV talk shows and the personal experience of many, divorce means battle, plain and simple. But does it have to be a bloodletting that ends up in court? Not if a couple chooses mediation.Mediation is the quick, fair and low stress way to resolve all kinds of disputes, including divorce. It takes place in a quiet room without a judge or a jury and leaves the final decision to the parties involved, not a fleetfooted lawyer. Consequently, more and more divorcing couples are choosing to mediate rather than step inside the contentious courtroom. Attorney Mediator Katherine Stoner sheds light on the role of mediation in divorce and then explains how to:find a mediatorprepare for mediationanticipate what will happen in mediationconduct oneself in the mediationget an agreement in writingfind and use legal and other types of advisorsresearch state divorce laws. Keeping divorce out of court not only saves people money and time, it lessens the impact of the separation on children and other family members involved. (Who ever heard of a bloody mediation?) With Stoner's encouraging, straightforward book in hand, couples have the antidote to frayed nerves, miserable families and protracted battles includes reams of worksheets and checklists.