Divorce mediation


Mediation is a cost-effective alternative to litigation. In addition to divorce mediation, Amherst Mediation offers mediation services in various areas of family law including post-divorce, gay and lesbian divorce and separation, marital agreements and pre-nuptial agreements and elder mediation.
Amherst Mediation Services also offers mediation services in the areas of personal injury, sexual harassment, landlord-tenant, business disputes and contract disputes.

In connection with family law cases, Amherst Mediation offers an initial free consultation where the mediator meets with both parties to discuss the process and answer questions. It is important that the participants feel comfortable with their mediator and for the mediator to assess and make sure that the mediation process makes sense for them.

People coming into mediation are often overwhelmed by the process. This is understandable. Divorcing couples for instance are often dealing with every major aspect of their lives: children, houses, pensions, life insurance and health insurance. Couples often do not know where to begin in unraveling and figuring out these issues. Do not worry, as that is your mediator's job. Your mediator will help you identify the issues that you need to address and start to help you address them one by one. Once you have reached an agreement on all the issues, your mediator will prepare an agreement. In a divorce mediation the mediator will prepare a separation agreement for you which you can file with the court and will also provide you with the forms you need and a detailed explanation of the process.

For matters for which it would be beneficial to have both a male and female mediator participating, Attorneys Kaufman and Barshak will combine their experience to offer co-mediated sessions.  This may be helpful in cases where there may be an imbalance of power or the perception of such an imbalance between the genders.    Whether alone or together, Attorneys Kaufman and Barshak will ensure that each party to a mediation has the opportunity to fully explore and explain their situation, feelings and needs.

A more detailed description of divorce mediation can be found at Behind the Scenes at Amherst Mediation.