Divorce mediation protects a family’s rights and privacy

Couples who choose to divorce often worry about keeping the matter calm and civil, but also private. While a divorce may remain responsible and civil if a couple chooses, it is not always possible to keep the matter private, especially once it enters a courtroom.

Divorce mediation is an excellent option that provides couples neutral guidance during their divorce while also providing valuable privacy. If you and your spouse hope to keep your divorce as amicable or private as possible, it is wise to consider how divorce mediation may meet your needs.

An experienced mediator can address all the legal issues you must work through to properly finalize your divorce, while also protecting your individual rights and privacy during the divorce and beyond.

Litigating divorce and court documents

Once a divorce enters the courtroom, it is difficult to control the information about the proceedings that the public may access. Courts generate public records as a byproduct of its processes, which document the issues discussed and resolved in a given court appearance.

In some instances, courts may agree to seal records if the parties involved present compelling reasons to do so, but this increases the expense and length of the divorce process, and may not provide as much protection of privacy as either party might hope. Courts tend to prefer to leave records public, and may only agree to seal certain records or portions of records, compromising the privacy of the couple.

Mediation and confidentiality

Mediation is, by its very nature, a confidential process. A mediator bears responsibility to retain the privacy of those in a mediation session, even against the wishes of the court or an interested third party, in some instances.

The matters that a couple discusses in mediation and the agreements that each side reaches may remain entirely confidential, because there are few or no public records generated by the process. As long as both parties agree that what happens in mediation stays in mediation, no other parties need know the specifics.

In fact, even if one party admits to some form of wrongdoing, the other party may not usually publicize the admission unless it is part of the discovery portion of a criminal or civil case.

Protecting your family and priorities

Your divorce does not have to be a destructive experience, even if you and your spouse have great difficulty dealing fairly and civilly with each other. An experienced mediator can examine your divorce clearly and fairly, and ensure that you have the tools to reach reasonable agreements while protecting your rights and maintaining the privacy that you deserve and expect.