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Divorce mediation is not for everyone in Pennsylvania

On Behalf of | Sep 30, 2013 | Divorce

With divorce at an all time high nationwide, many people are touting the benefits of keeping Pennsylvania couples out of court. Options such as divorce mediation and collaborative law are gaining popularity. However, there are times when neither of these options will work for a Pennsylvania couple.

Of course, it would be nice if a couple could get along and have an amicable divorce, but no couple should feel as though they are doing something wrong if they need to make use of the Pennsylvania courts. Sometimes, couples are unable to communicate with each other in the weeks and months following their decision to end their marriage. They may be able to achieve a level of civility when dealing with visitation if there are children involved, but as for any additional communications, neither party is ready.

Because of this, parties need intermediaries such as attorneys and judges to help the parties with negotiations and decisions. The ability to compromise is sometimes difficult to achieve when there is still so much hurt, anger, resentment and sometimes fear or control between the parties. There are also times when there are extenuating circumstances such as one party hiding assets or domestic violence. In these cases, mediation is doomed to fail.

Thousands of couples still litigate their divorce. Just because there is a trend toward divorce mediation, that doesn’t mean that every couple should be using it. A traditional divorce is touted as being more expensive, but for some it’s the only way to end their marriage. Some issues can’t be overcome by mediation.

Source: Huffington Post, Divorce Confidential: Should I Negotiate or Litigate My Divorce?, Caroline Choi, Sept. 25, 2013

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