Couples Using Mediation to Reduce Cost of Divorce
Couples Using Mediation to Reduce Cost of Divorce
Our current recession, which has been the most brutal economic downturn since the Great Depression, has also affected the nation’s divorce rate. The reluctance for many couples to delay divorce is based in part on their devalued assets and increasing debts. According to the most-recent S&P/Case-Shiller national index, at the end of the first quarter of 2010 average home values were down almost 31% from their high in mid-2006. Many portfolios have been ravaged as the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 28% from October 2007 to August of 2010. In August of 2010, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported that consumer debt reached $11.7 trillion. That figure is 6.5% less than the recorded high in 2008, but double the amount of debt reported a decade ago. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate that 6.6 million Americans are considered "long term" unemployed, meaning they have been jobless, but actively seeking work for at least 27 weeks. According to the Wall Street Journal, historically, the number of divorces filed decreases in weaker economies. The divorce rate for married women, which increased to 17.5 for every 1,000 people in 2007 from 17.3 in 2005, fell to 16.9 in 2008, according to the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia. For many couples, however, delaying the divorce is not an option. When controlling costs of their separation, however, is imperative, mediation offers a viable option to litigation. In mediation, where the costs are significantly lower than litigation, couples meet with lawyers outside of court to create a mutually acceptable agreement that is later brought before a judge. Mediation at The Harris Law Firm will allow the couple the benefit of using a skilled family law attorney/ mediator to help couples create a memorandum of understanding in order to divide assets and debts in an equitable manner and to create a viable parenting plan for a fraction of the cost of litigation.
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