Family and Divorce Mediation in New York and Online

  Mediation Services

• Separation and Divorce Mediation Separation and divorce are among the most painful and disruptive events that an individual and family can experience. The problems are both financial and emotional. Mediation aims at reducing this tension, not increasing it.
• Couples/Marital Mediation is a process for couples who are experiencing problems in their relationship. It uses dispute resolution techniques to help couples identify, address, and resolve conflicts. Mediation can be a step towards reconciliation in order to avoid divorce or it can be used to strengthen a relationship by breaking impasse around financial or other issues. It is also appropriate for business partners, for example partners in a restaurant.
• Discernment Mediation is intended for couples who are contemplating whether or not to end the relationship. In a few sessions by the use of mediation techniques, couples will decide how to proceed.
• Child Custody and Parenting Agreements Not uncommonly, separating parents do not agree on the best parenting/custody arrangement to have. A protracted “custody battle” is likely to make things worse. Aside from the enormous costs, the conflict is likely to cause serious long-term harm to their children. Mediation offers a better alternative.
• High Conflict Custody Cases The continuation of high conflict custody cases through litigation generally makes things worse for the children “caught in the middle”. Mediation lessens, rather than exacerbates, the conflict between the parents – working towards a better outcome for all.
• Special Needs Children Considerations Parents with Special Needs children most often have a higher rate of separation and divorce because of the additional stress. It is essential to take in the various needs that these children have in order to make things go more smoothly post separation, and mediation is the best forum to take these needs into account.
• Divorce with Adopted Children One needs to be particularly sensitive to the special needs that adopted children have when their parents get divorced. This may rekindle feelings of abandonment. Mediation can best focus on these needs and how to deal with them.
• Relocation Cases We offer mediation for separated or divorced parents where one chooses to relocate, and where the other one is not in agreement. If there is going to be a relocation, this would necessitate a change to the existing parenting schedule. Mediation is a very successful way to deal with relocation issues as opposed to going to court, which is a lengthy and expensive process. Most people are able to mediate their relocation case in a brief number of sessions, which can save much time and money.
• Parenting Coordination Parents who have completed their divorce but still remain in high conflict are very often ordered by the court, or by the advice of their attorneys, to start working with a Parenting Coordinator. Our many years of experience in working with high conflict couples allows us to take on the role of parenting coordination.
• Child Support Mediation Most often, changes in circumstances necessitate modifying the amount of child support being paid. Parents can either return to court or choose to mediate such disputes.
• Divorce Coaching Often, individuals going through a divorce benefit from individual coaching in order to help them through this challenging process. This is separate from any advice that their lawyer is giving them or from what they may be gaining from being in individual psychotherapy.
• Post-Divorce Mediation Often, parents find themselves in a situation where they need to make modifications to their agreement, because of changes in their situation. Post-Divorce Mediation allows them to do this without returning to court.
• Pre- and Post-Nuptial Agreements These agreements are often best completed through mediation, rather than with attorneys, as you do not want to have an adversarial process at the start of a relationship.
• Pet Custody Mediation We offer mediation for couples with pets that are separating or divorcing. Because people have strong emotional connections to their pets, they may need help deciding who takes custody of the pet following a separation as well as dealing with future medical costs. We generally follow the “best interests of the pet” model in helping you resolve your pet custody issues when separating.
• Gray Divorce We mediate the special issues that arise when working with couples who are over 55 years old
• Relationship Mediation We offer mediation for all types of relationships including unmarried couples and co-parents, business partners, roommates and any type of relationship experiencing conflict
• Team Mediation The Team Mediation process is led by a mediator and a divorce financial professional who work with the parties to resolve all relevant issues
• COVID-related Conflict Mediation COVID has brought about many new issues such as one parent temporarily relocating, decisions about vaccines, and concerns about exposure to new partners. Mediation offers parents an alternative to working these issues out in court.
• Family Mediation Families, even those who are normally well-functioning, may experience periods of strain, stress, turmoil and difficulties in decision making. Parents and adult children, siblings and in-laws may encounter strained relationships and breakdowns in communication. Divorce, illness, death and financial concerns may be contributing factors. Grandparents may lose contact with their grandchildren, aging parent issues may reawaken sibling rivalry and the classic mother-in-law/daughter-in-law scenario may present itself, all leading to family estrangement. Mediation can be used to resolve such conflicts
• Elder Mediation Where families resolve conflicts and find solutions to care for elder family members while preserving family relationships