MEDIATE YOUR DIVORCE TO SAVE TIME , SAVE MONEY and STAY OUT OF COURT
Mediation helps people resolve disputes without litigation. Mediation is less formal, less expensive, and less time-consuming than litigating a divorce case in court. Mediation gives people a greater opportunity to determine when and how their dispute will be resolved.
In mediation, an impartial person called a "mediator" helps the parties try to reach a mutually acceptable resolution of their divorce. The mediator does not decide the terms of the divorce but helps the parties resolve the disputed issues so they can try to settle the dispute themselves. Mediation leaves control of the outcome with the parties.
You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by mediating your divorce rather than paying opposing lawyers thousands of dollars to fight in court. Litigation is stressful, expensive, and can be all-consuming.
To learn more about divorce mediation and how the Law Office of Thomas C. Bradley can help you, call 775-323-5178 today to schedule your confidential initial consultation. Mr. Bradley serves the Reno and Sparks areas of Nevada.
Read about mediation and divorce topics, as well how attorney Tom Bradley can help with your case:
Benefits of Mediation
Save Time.
A divorce case can be settled or decided much sooner with mediation often in a matter of months, even weeks, while bringing a divorce case to trial can take a year or more. Parties must surrender their own desires for a prompt resolution and live with backlogged crowded court calendars and busy lawyer schedules which cause long and unnecessary delays. These delays can both escalate the hostility between the parties and significantly delay the process of emotional healing.
Save Money.
Mediation is far less expensive than the cost of litigation. Parties can easily spend ten (10) times the cost of mediation to litigate their case in Court. When cases are resolved earlier through mediation, the parties save a substantial amount of money that they would have otherwise spent on attorney fees, court costs, deposition fees, experts' fees, and other divorce litigation expenses. Parties frequently spend more time, money, and energy to litigate their disputes than their divorce case is worth. Mediation avoids the formality, the time, the combativeness, and the expense of traditional divorce litigation.
Mediation is Confidential and Private.
Many court divorce files are public and can be viewed online by overly curious friends, family members, and even strangers. Mediation is completely confidential so what happens in mediation, stays in mediation. Mr. Bradley believes that each party’s income, assets, and other private financial details should be protected from public view. Privacy and confidentiality are also critical in cases where there are allegations of infidelity, drug or alcohol abuse, or domestic violence. Fortunately, Nevada law strongly protects the parties right of confidentiality during and after mediation.
Stay out of Court.
If mediation is successful, you will never set foot in a courtroom, you will never be subjected to the stress of being required to answer questions or be cross-examined about private personal and financial matters in open court. Litigation takes a toll on both your physical and mental well-being.
Mr. Bradley will draft all the necessary documents to ensure that your divorce is completely legal and the terms of your divorce remain confidential.
Increase Control Over the Process and the Outcome.
In mediation, parties play a greater role in shaping both the process and its outcome. In mediation, parties have more opportunity to tell their side of the story than they do at trial. An experienced mediator encourages ad assists the parties to fashion creative resolutions that are not available in a trial.
Preserve Relationships.
Mediation is a less adversarial and hostile way to resolve a dispute. Litigation is harmful to families. An experienced mediator can help the parties effectively communicate their needs and point of view to the other side. This is an important advantage especially where the parties share children and/or common friends and wish to preserve a publicly cordial relationship.
Increase Satisfaction and Decrease Drama.
Mediation is also effective when emotions are getting in the way of resolution. An effective mediator can hear the parties out and help them communicate with each other in an effective and nondestructive manner. In mediation, the parties act as problem-solvers rather than combatants.
In a contentious divorce trial, there is typically a winner and a loser. The loser will be very unhappy, and even the winner may not be completely satisfied with the trial judge’s rulings. Many times, the losing party will appeal the trial’ judge’s rulings and the litigation will continue for years. Even after a Court case ends, the underlying conflict remains. An experienced mediator, on the other hand, can help the parties find win-win solutions and achieve their real goals.
Moreover, there are advantages to attempting mediation even if all the issues are not ultimately resolved. First, almost certainly the parties will be able to resolve at least some of the disputed issues so fewer issues will remain to litigate thereby saving both time and money. Second, you will have the peace of mind knowing that you did your very best to resolve the case in a quick and less expensive manner without resorting to expensive and acrimonious divorce litigation. Third, the mediation process and everything that was discussed remains confidential.
In short, the opportunity for a quick, cost-effective, and satisfying resolution is almost alway worth the time, effort and minimal cost of mediation.
How Does It Work?
Mr. Bradley serves as the mediator and helps the parties try to reach a mutually acceptable resolution of their divorce. Mr. Bradley does not decide the terms of the divorce but helps the parties resolve the disputed issues so they can try to settle the dispute themselves. Mediation leaves control of the outcome with the parties.
The goal of divorce mediation is to help the parties resolve their division of assets and debts, including ownership of the family residence, and terms of alimony, if applicable. If there are minor children to the marriage, Mr. Bradley will assist the parties in resolving child custody/visitation issues and create a workable parenting plan that is fair to both parties and is in the best interest of the children.
Once both sides have agreed to use divorce mediation as an alternative to hiring separate lawyers to litigate, an initial appointment is held during which both spouses attend and the general goals of the parties are discussed. A written agreement to mediate is reviewed and signed.
Mr. Bradley will then have the parties provide him with relevant documents, such as tax returns, bank and brokerage statements, retirement plan statements, credit card statements, copies of real estate deeds, and other relevant financial documents.
Mr. Bradley will then hold a series of meetings, frequently taking turns meeting separately with each spouse. He will help you every step of the way and will work diligently to resolve all disputed issues. Once that occurs, he will draft a mutually acceptable marital settlement agreement. The parties are then free to take the agreement to a “consulting attorney” to look over the final document before signing. Mr. Bradley will then prepare and file all necessary legal documents with the District Court so it is legally binding and enforceable.
The vast majority of cases that enter mediation are successfully settled out of court when both parties commit to seek a resolution in good faith. Nationally, the statistics demonstrate that 80-90% of all mediations result in a full settlement.
The Experience You Need
First, experience matters. Mr. Bradley has been representing clients in legal disputes for well over 30 years. He has appeared in over 100 mediations and knows how they should be handled.
Second, Mr. Bradley knows the details Nevada divorce law inside and out. He can advise the parties as to the state of the law in Nevada.
Third, Mr. Bradley not only knows the divorce law, but has also been certified as an arbitrator for complex financial matters. In complex financial cases, he has the knowledge to assist the parties in reaching a fair and reasonable resolution.
Fourth, Mr. Bradley knows how to facilitate and direct the mediation to ensure that the proper issues are discussed in a civil and respectful manner. Mr. Bradley has the advantage of being able to get along well with people and diffuse conflict in what are often very acrimonious and bitter divorce disputes. He has helped many couples come to an agreement that satisfies both parties without the long, painful and expensive court battle that can be so characteristic of divorce.
Allow Mr. Bradley to utilize his experience to save you time and money by resolving your divorce in mediation ---contact him today.
Contact the Law Office of Thomas C. Bradley to discuss the details of your case.
Personal Attention
Divorce mediation is a negotiation that works by addressing the personal needs and desires of each party. Mr. Bradley works one-on-one with you, taking all the time you need, to get to the heart of the issues. When you choose the Law Office of Thomas C. Bradley, you will work exclusively with Mr. Bradley and never be asked to go through an assistant or another attorney. He will work closely with you to identify the issues that matter to you. By gaining a deep understanding of your needs and the conflicts in the relationship, he can help you negotiate a very targeted agreement that results in the most practical and workable outcome.
Mediation does not work for everyone, but it often works for couples who would never have believed that they could come to an agreement. With an experienced and skilled divorce mediator, you can approach the process with the confidence and strength that allows you to let down the barriers to negotiation and work your way forward to a resolution that will keep your divorce out of the courtroom and give you control over the details of the outcome.
Contact the Law Office of Thomas C. Bradley Today
If you are facing the challenges of divorce in Reno or Sparks, Nevada and want to learn more about your legal rights and how we can help, please call the Law Office of Thomas C. Bradley at 775-323-5178 or contact us online to schedule your initial consultation.
