Arizona Family Law Mediation

Divorce and Family Law Mediation

Mediation offers the best environment for a speedy, fair, and cost-effective resolution to family disputes.

Why Mediation?

Mediation should be the first option for most individuals involved in a family law dispute. We help with divorces, legal separations, paternity matters (unmarried parents), modification of orders, grandparent cases, pre and postnuptial agreements, and family disputes. Mediation offers the best environment for a speedy, fair, and cost-effective resolution to family disputes in Arizona. Below are some of the benefits of mediation:

It Works!
Mediation works to resolve the matter in a great majority of cases – around 90 percent.
Low Cost.
In a highly litigated case, it is not unusual to amass $20,000.00 or more per party in attorney’s and expert’s fees and costs. Mediation costs substantially less, and the parties generally share the cost. A divorce mediation with two hours of mediation sessions costs only $3,500.00 plus court filing fees. The number of mediation sessions used varies based on your needs.
Time-Efficient.
Litigation can take a year or more to complete and unhappy litigants may be able to challenge the decision with a higher court and are more likely or return to Court in the future. Mediation can take mere hours to complete. Then, it is a matter of submitting paperwork to the Court. For dissolution actions, where there is a 60-day waiting period built in, the action can take under three months to complete.
Amicable and Less Stressful.
While litigation destroys relationships and often causes participants great stress and disruption in their lives, ADR often preserves relationships and eases stress.
You Have Control.
With Mediation the participants have control over the resolution, and the participants have flexibility in crafting win-win solutions. Courts are limited in how they can decide the case, and often there is a winner and a loser.
Certain.
Litigants always risk losing in Court. No attorney can ever guarantee a win. Doing poorly in Court can have dire, long-lasting consequences. With Mediation, the participants control the outcome, and they do not have to gamble on the result by leaving their fate in the hands of a judge or jury.
Confidential.
Trials and Court decisions are a matter of public record. Settlement discussions remain confidential, with few exceptions.

What Clients Have to Say

“The process of mediation was a positive experience that allowed us to agree in writing to all the terms of our divorce including a parenting plan in a non-confrontational environment. Alona, our mediator, was exceptional during our difficult time. She didn’t “pick sides” and instead focused on how we could effectively compromise to facilitate our divorce. This spared us otherwise costly attorney’s fees.”

“Alona handled a very sensitive time with the utmost respect for both parties.”

“Ms. Gottfried was superb. The settlement could not have happened without skill and determination.”

Why Use Our Family Law Mediation Firm?

Alona M. Gottfried offers a low-cost, more amicable, and less stressful way to mediate. Below are some of the benefits of hiring Alona as your mediator:

Experienced and Skilled
Alona has been a family mediator for over 20 years and has served as a leader and instructor in the mediation community. She understands family law, as she is also a family law attorney with approximately 29 years of experience. She is empathetic, kind, and neutral. She has a high success rate mediating many high and low conflict cases . Read reviews for Alona here.
Low Costs/Pay As You Go
She charges reasonable rates and allows you to pay as you go.
Complimentary Consultation
She offers a complimentary informational consultation to explain the mediation process and answer your questions about mediation.
Convenient
She offers virtual, in-person, and telephone mediations to best meet your needs.
Easy
She prepares all the paperwork for you, files paperwork for you, and otherwise guides you through the process to make it as easy and stress-free as possible.
Time-Efficient
She has a streamlined process that allows most mediation participants to complete their mediation in less time, which often results in less stress and uncertainty. She also accommodates those participants who want to take things slowly. She can accommodate most requests for last minute mediations.
Flexible
She works to accommodate requests for last minute mediations.

More Happy Clients

“When you successfully mediate you save thousands on attorney fees and your divorce decree is submitted to the court by your mediator. Mediation allows you to move on with your separate lives more quickly. It was nice that we didn’t have to appear before a judge in a court and instead were notified by mail when the decree was official.”

“This experience was much less painful than the conventional process. Started with divorce lawyers. That quickly became too adversarial. This process allowed us to realize we wanted the same outcome.”

Mediation holds special benefits for people with children:

While mediation offers great benefits whether or not children are involved, mediation offers a special benefit for parents and children alike. Mediation works to preserve relationships and improve post-dissolution relationships in which the parents can work together for the children’s best interest. Parents will be connected through their children for the rest of their lives. Research reveals that ongoing parental conflict negatively impacts the emotional well-being of the children. Mediation creates final orders that the parties are more likely to accept and follow, and mediation allows for parents to move forward with their lives in a positive, empowering way.

Having two children together and the impact of our divorce on them was a big concern. The mediation process allowed us to agree to the terms of our split without dragging out the process in a bitter war for years. Because of this my relationship with my x-spouse is cooperative allowing us to continue responsible parenting for our children.”

What type of cases should be mediated?

Mediation is appropriate for all types of family cases for all types of families. Whether the concern is a divorce, a legal separation, a paternity action (when parents are unmarried) a child support, decision-making (custody) or parental access modification action, a dispute between family members, or other legal matters, mediation is a good option. Mediation can also assist where there is a dissolution of a relationships outside of marriage. Unmarried couples often have to divide property and debts, and mediation offers a relaxed and effective forum to resolve such matters.