Mediation in Phoenix works through the mediator’s use of conflict resolution skills.  A good mediator is one that is trained in and experienced using conflict resolution skills.  Mediators in Arizona use a number of conflict resolution skills.  For example,

Mediators help people generate ideas for resolution and help people consider all aspects of a conflict/agreement.

Mediators know how to help people figure out what they really want.  Sometimes people are angry and cannot clearly see what solution would be best for them.  Sometimes people’s egos get in the way of a resolution of the dispute.  Mediators help people tweak their positions without losing face.

Mediators help people communicate with each other in a way that promotes resolution.  Sometimes conflict is simply based on a misunderstanding.  When people communicate, misunderstandings can be cleared up.  Litigation rarely provides that opportunity.  Also, when emotion is involved, communications may only lead to more conflict.  Mediators know how to take the sting out of communications in a manner that encourages parties to see other points of view.

Mediators can manage emotion.  Mediators know how to address angry people, shut down people, and weepy people.  Mediators help people move past the emotions and focus on solutions.

Mediators can help people be reasonable.  In mediation people explore the best and worst alternatives to a mediated agreement (is settling better or worse than not settling?).  Mediation sometimes includes the use of experts to help people determine what a reasonable solution is.

Mediator provides a forum for quick and easy negotiations.  Sometimes mediation comes down to a negotiation (for example – a dollar amount).  The mediator goes back and forth between the parties, conveying offers, helping the parties explore the offers and helping the parties create methods to break impasses.

Mediation is based on the concept that, with the help of a trained professional, people can resolve their own conflict best through communication, rather than litigation.  As Winston Churchill stated:  “To jaw-jaw is always better than to war-war.”  Mediators help make those communications effective.

Alona M. Gottfried is a mediator and attorney in Arizona.  If you have questions about mediation, she can be reached at: 480-998-1500 or alona(at)sglawaz.com.  This is a general interest article only and is not intended to be legal advice.  See a legal professional before making legal decisions.

It is likely that, at some point in your life, you will have a boss, a spouse, a business partner or a company who will cause you financial loss or emotional distress.  Often, those situations must be addressed.  However, how you choose to address conflict is up to you.  As Max Lucade said:  “Conflict is inevitable, but combat is optional”.

You can choose to make the conflict the center of your life – engaging in litigation that lasts years, and spending all of your savings to address the conflict.  People engrossed in this kind of conflict can often think of little else.  Some people start seeing themselves as victims, and they lose their sense of control over their lives.

You can instead choose a more peaceful route that addresses real problems without all of the pain and cost of litigation.  That route for many people is mediation.  Mediation is an alternate dispute resolution process embraced around the world to end conflict quickly and powerfully.  The parties to a conflict jointly retain one mediator – a neutral party with conflict resolution skills – to help them resolve their conflict.  This happens through exchanges of information and the use of problem solving techniques.  The parties can enter into binding agreements through mediation, thereby formally ending conflict. Mediation ends conflict most of the time it is utilized.

There is often a palpable moment at the end of a mediation when the parties experience the relief that comes with the knowledge that their conflict is resolved, and they can now able to move forward with their lives.  “Lost time is never found again.”  (Benjamin Franklin)   If you find yourself in a stressful dispute, ask yourself:  How much of my life do I want to waste in conflict?

Alona M. Gottfried is a mediator and attorney in Arizona.  If you have questions about mediation, she can be reached at: 480-998-1500 or alona(at)sglawaz.com.  This is a general interest article only and is not intended to be legal advice.  See a legal professional before making legal decisions.

The answer to this question is dependent on the method you choose to dissolve your marriage, as well as the complexity of your case.

Cost of an Arizona Divorce

The Basics:  In every Arizona divorce, there are filing fees charged by the Court.  The person who initiates the divorce has a $321.00 filing fee.  The other party has a $256.00 filing fee.  However, either party may qualify for a deferral or waiver of Court fees if financial circumstances support that request.  If the parties have children, they also need to each take a Parent Information Program Class, which costs $50.00 per person.

Traditional Litigation in Arizona: If one chooses to represent him/herself, the costs of litigation could be limited to the above.  The Court may order the parties to retain a financial expert or a custody evaluator, or attend a parenting conference or court mediation, which results in additional costs. With attorneys, the cost of litigation depends on how much work the attorney has to perform (for example, how many letters and court filings he/she has to write, how many meetings or court hearings he/she has to attend; how much research he/she has to conduct).  It is not unusual for costs to range from $3,500.00 to over $50,000.00 per person.  If a party just uses an attorney to prepare documents and give minimal advice, the cost is lower.  It is also possible for one party to have to pay a portion of the other party’s attorney’s fees.  The Court can order that based on the disparity in income between the parties or the reasonableness of each party’s positions.  However, an award of fees is in the Court’s discretion.

Arizona Mediation: Mediation tends to cost a fraction of the cost of litigation (with attorneys), and it is completed in a fraction of the time.  With mediation, the parties jointly select one mediator who uses conflict resolution skills to help the parties reach agreements.  The cost of mediation can be as low as $250.00 and generally does not cost more than $1,500.00.

Arizona Collaborative Divorce: Collaborative divorce is a team approach to divorce, where the parties work with a variety of professionals and agree to resolve matters outside of Court.  It is generally more expensive than mediation but less expensive than the average litigated cost.  The parties each retain one collaboratively trained attorney and one coach (to help them through the emotional aspects of the divorce), and then they jointly retain a financial specialist and a child specialist.  While the parties are paying more professionals, each professional performs just the tasks he/she is best equipped to perform, making the process cost-efficient.

Alona M. Gottfried is a mediator and attorney in Arizona.  If you have questions about mediation or family law, she can be reached at: 480-998-1500 or alona(at)sglawaz.com.  You can also visit: Azmediator.com.  This is a general interest article only and is not intended to be legal advice.  See a legal professional before making legal decisions.

Phoenix Mediator and Mediation to resolve family disputes.

Families in Arizona have to address so many difficult issues together.  For example:  what to do with an elderly relative’s medical care?  How to address the inappropriate behavior of a family member?  How to divide jointly owned property?   Family members do not always see eye to eye.  The result can be bitter fights that span many family members and even many generations.   These bitter fights are painful, time consuming and especially sad when they result in alienation from former loved ones.  Life is too short to be estranged from those you love for even a short period of time.

Litigation often makes matters worse.  Family members are forced to spend money on attorneys that they could better use for the benefit of their family, and, after years of litigation, people are more entrenched in their positions than ever, and the divide the conflict created is almost impossible to overcome.

Family Mediation in Arizona is a method to end conflict and repair relationships.  Families of any size can meet with a mediator who is trained in conflict resolution.  The issues can be discussed in a neutral and calm environment.  Family members will have a chance to be heard and feel validated.  Misunderstanding can turn into understanding.  Possible solutions can be discussed, and agreements can be reached.  Mediation is successful a vast majority of the time.  Mediation works based on the concepts of talking, listening, seeing problems in a new light, and putting away old disagreements in favor of lasting peace.

Alona M. Gottfried is a mediator and attorney in Arizona.  If you have questions about mediation, she can be reached at: 480-998-1500 or alona(at)sglawaz.com.  This is a general interest article only and is not intended to be legal advice.  See a legal professional before making legal decisions.

AZ Non Compliance of Court Order

You have Arizona Court orders, but the other party is ignoring them.  What can you do?   In many cases, where a party has the ability to comply with the order and knows about the order, you can file a contempt action.  You may even be able to ask the Court to incarcerate the offending party until he/she complies (depending on the nature of the violation).  However, a better solution may be to mediate the dispute.  In an Arizona mediation, the parties sit down with a neutral third party who helps the parties peacefully reach a mutually agreeable and binding solution.  The new agreement can then be converted to a Court order.

Why mediation in Arizona?

1)     The other party may not be able to comply with the orders, and you can use mediation in Arizona to renegotiate terms and include provisions to encourage compliance.

2)     Hiring an attorney and going to Court is often expensive.  While you may be able to request that the other party pay your court fees, there is no guarantee that the Court will award them to you.  Further, even if the Court does award fees to you, you may have trouble collecting on the judgment from the offending party, which may lead to more fees and aggravation.

3)     Going to Court is risky.  You could lose.  There are no guarantees in Court.

4)     Going to Court is time consuming.  One often has to wait many months to get a hearing.

5)     People are more likely to comply with terms to which they agree rather than terms that are imposed on them.

6)     Mediations are by and large successful.  If parties are willing to sit down together and work matters out amicably with a skilled mediator, they tend to walk away from the experience much more satisfied than with contentious litigation.

7)     Who wants more conflict in his/her life?

Alona M. Gottfried is a mediator and attorney in Arizona.  If you have questions about mediation, she can be reached at: 480-998-1500 or alona(at)sglawaz.com.  This is a general interest article only and is not intended to be legal advice.  See a legal professional before making legal decisions.

Arizona Mediation – An Alternative To Litigating Your Divorce

Everyone has heard about the nightmares associated with divorce litigation:

huge attorney and expert fees, aggressive letters from the opposing attorney, and endless requests for documents and information about your private life that you must provide.  At the end of it all, usually one or both parties are not wholly satisfied with how the Court has ruled. Mediation is an alternative to divorce litigation.   This article describes the basic process for divorce mediation in Arizona. When the parties do not have attorneys, the process is generally as follows:

First, both parties must agree to use mediation.  To reach the decision of whether mediation is right for you and your spouse, it is useful to take advantage of the free consultation often offered by the mediator.  While each party can meet separately with the mediator, this meeting is most effective when both parties meet with the mediator at the same time.  Doing this helps both parties see that the mediator is neutral and does not favor either party.  The parties can review additional information about mediation at AZmediator.com.

The mediation process is different if the parties have attorneys.  In that case, the attorneys generally schedule the mediation and provide the mediator with a Mediation Memorandum setting forth the issues and what the parties would like.  The parties and attorneys then meet at a mutually agreeable time and generally complete the mediation in one session (usually four to eight hours in length).  Before the mediation starts, the parties will each fill out a form requesting basic information about the parties’ assets, debts and other issues related to the divorce.  The parties do not have to know everything about their financial picture or what they want at the first mediation session. The mediation usually takes place over the course of two or more two hour sessions, but the mediation sometimes can be completed in one day.  Participants often need to gather information or documentation in between sessions.  Participants can also choose to consult with professionals (property appraisers, child specialists, attorneys) before entering a final agreement.

Even when parties use mediation to resolve their disputes, the parties still have to file paperwork with the Superior Court in Arizona to get a divorce.  While the mediator cannot give legal advice, she can help the participants obtain and file the appropriate forms and pay the appropriate filing fees.