Frequently Asked Questions

• Mediation is LESS EXPENSIVE and FASTER than going to trial.
• Mediation allows you to OWN YOUR OUTCOME during a divorce or separation.
• Mind Your Manners Mediation offers both legal and psychological expertise.

Litigation is a fight where one party “wins” and the other party “loses.” However, if you choose to mediate instead, you get to reach your own agreements. This takes place outside of court and without going to trial, where a judge will make decisions for you. Unlike judges, mediators are third-party neutrals who help referee your negotiations.

Working with Professionals

Professionals help with divorce in a couple of ways. You and your spouse may hire a mediator, who may or may not be an attorney, to help you reach agreements together. Another option is for you and/or your spouse to each hire an attorney or legal paraprofessional to help you litigate your divorce.

Mediators

Mediators are third-party neutrals who act like referees for your divorce. They guide your dialogue and provide information to help clarify various issues. Even if they are a licensed attorney (which isn’t a requirement to mediate in Arizona), they do not represent either party. Instead, mediators help facilitate your divorce by overseeing your negotiations. Your divorce generally costs less because you and your spouse share the cost of the mediator, who usually charges similar hourly rates to an attorney. Further, in choosing mediation, you are agreeing to sit down and work together to reach your own agreements.

Attorneys

In contrast, one party hires an attorney to represent his/her own interests. This means that your attorney looks out only for you and not your spouse (and vice versa). It also means you will litigate your divorce in court. And, if you and your spouse are unable to reach all agreements, you will need to go to trial. This will increase the cost of your divorce because you and your spouse must each pay your respective attorneys. Plus, the more you and your spouse fight and drag out the proceedings, the higher that cost soars.

Legal Paraprofessionals

Legal paraprofessionals are licensed to provide legal services in limited practice areas and are akin to nurse practitioners. They must get licensed in each specific area they wish to practice. The limited practice areas include: family law, limited jurisdiction civil, criminal law, and state administrative law. Like an attorney, a legal paraprofessional is hired by one party to represent that party’s interests during litigation. Unlike legal document preparers (see below), legal paraprofessionals can give legal advice. Legal paraprofessionals are generally more cost effective than hiring an attorney because they are only licensed in the specific area(s) of their choosing within the limited practice areas. Importantly, family law legal paraprofessionals cannot assist with: (1) preparing a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) and supplemental orders dividing retirement assets, (2) dividing or conveying formal business entities or commercial property, or (3) appealing to the court of appeals or supreme court.

Representing Yourself

You may choose to represent yourself if you do not need or cannot afford an attorney. However, if you need limited assistance, you might consider representing yourself with the help of a legal document preparer.

Representing Yourself without Help

Lastly, if you choose to represent yourself (called a pro per or pro se litigant), you might save money, but you may be in a worse position overall. This is especially true if your spouse hires an attorney. Importantly, people who represent themselves are held to the same standard as an attorney. Even if both you and your spouse represent yourselves, you may not be aware of nuances in the law that could offer better solutions for your specific circumstances. Therefore, it’s important for you to weigh the costs and benefits of saving money upfront by representing yourself versus hiring a professional to assist you and help ensure the best solutions are reached for your family’s circumstances.

Legal Document Preparer

If you represent yourself, you might use a legal document preparer. A legal document preparer is an independent paralegal who has been certified by Arizona to prepare legal documents without the supervision of an attorney. They are very knowledgeable about Arizona law and the court requirements for legal documents. Importantly, they cannot give legal advice because they are not licensed attorneys. Legal document preparers provide information on the law, but they ultimately draft exactly what you tell them to draft. Hiring a legal document preparer can be a cost-effective option if you only need help formalizing your legal documents. However, because they are drafting what you tell them to, you have less assurance whether your agreements will be approved by the court.

There is no definitive answer because the parties set the pace of mediation. Therefore, mediation can easily take as little as a few hours in a single session or a few months across multiple sessions. This can depend on how quickly you and your spouse reach agreements on all the issues you’re looking to mediate. It might also depend on how frequently you and your spouse schedule subsequent sessions.

Importantly, Arizona has a mandatory 60-day waiting period before a divorce can be granted. The 60 days begin after you file your Petition for Dissolution. This mandatory waiting period applies in all situations. It applies if you file your Petition for Dissolution before mediating and you reach your agreements quicker than the 60 days. It also applies if you wait to file your Petition for Dissolution after mediating and reaching full agreements. No Arizona divorce will be finalized until that 60-day period is over.

Of course, setting your own pace also means that if you need to slow down the process for any reason, you easily can. A couple common reasons include accommodating schedules and stepping back temporarily to lessen the tension around any impasses that may arise.

Further, slowing down your mediation doesn’t necessarily mean your divorce will take longer than litigating. Litigating a divorce can easily take upwards of a year or longer. Often, litigation can be drawn out by how much you and your spouse are fighting versus agreeing. Additionally, you are at the mercy of the busy court calendar when scheduling each hearing throughout the litigation process.

The process can vary slightly from one mediation firm to another. This is a general overview of what to expect from all family mediations.

You and your spouse will each need to state which issue(s) brought you to mediation. You will also provide your current positions on each issue. This gives the mediator a first look at how close together or far apart you and your spouse are on the various issues.

The mediator acts as a neutral third-party who oversees your negotiations. This may involve clarifying the law and/or helping you and your spouse see the bigger picture. There may be times where the mediator holds a private meeting, called a caucus, with one party. Generally, caucuses remains confidential unless the parties agree otherwise. However, if the information is substantively necessary for the process to continue, that information will not remain confidential.

At the end of mediation, your mediator will formalize your agreements by drafting the appropriate document(s) for you to sign. The specific document(s) drafted will be based on the progress made and/or your goal for mediation (e.g., the entire divorce/separation or only specific issues).

It mostly depends if you can reach agreements on all the issues relevant to your divorce / separation. If you and your partner can reach full agreements, you generally will not have to go to court.

An uncontested divorce is a divorce where both parties agree on all the issues before you start your court case. You and your spouse might negotiate by yourselves or you might work with a mediator to reach your agreements. Either way, you are able to prepare your legal documents and submit them to the court for judge approval without having to go to any court hearings. You may prepare the documents on your own or with the help of a legal document preparer, legal paraprofessional, or attorney.

1. You control your own outcome.
2. The goal is resolution instead of fighting with a win / lose mentality.
3. You avoid unpredictable outcomes.
4. Mediation is more cost-efficient than litigation.
5. Mediation allows you to proceed at your own pace.
6. You improve communication and preserve relationships.
7. There is less stress because there is no judge or formal court proceedings.
8. You get to tell your story and be heard.
9. You maintain your privacy.