Austin, Texas: Divorce Mediation
In divorce mediation, a neutral conflict resolution professional helps spouses come to an agreement about their divorce or other family dispute. Once an agreement is reached, the agreement is memorialized in a decree (divorce) or an order (other family law matter). There is no court intervention other than the judge signing the final order. Sometimes each spouse has his or her own lawyer, but sometimes couples use the process without hiring attorneys.
Linda Stanley: Trained and Certified in Divorce Mediation
Attorney Linda J. Stanley is an Austin, Texas, family law attorney who has been in practice since 1984. Her law offices focus exclusively on resolving family law disputes via mediation, collaborative law and litigation when necessary.
Ms. Stanley has mediated nearly two hundred cases, including divorces, other family law matters, employment disputes and personal injury cases. She is also appointed frequently by the Travis County judges to mediate Child Protective Services cases.
If you are interested in mediation of your divorce or other family law conflict, please contact our offices to schedule an appointment.
What Does Divorce Mediation Look Like?
An attorney-mediator meets with the spouses together and addresses with them all issues that need to be resolved to finalize their divorce. The attorney-mediator helps the parties reach agreement on the issues and prepares the decree and other documents needed to finalize the divorce. In some complex cases, outside experts may also be used, in which case the parties have to pay for only one expert rather than two "dueling experts."
In each mediation, we ask the spouses to abide by standard Rules of Mediation, which help define the process.
When Is Divorce Mediation a Good Idea?
Divorce mediation usually works best when the spouses are committed to resolving their divorce without a contentious court proceeding. In some instances they may have already agreed on many issues; in other, they simply need to be committed to work together to reach an agreement the parties believe is best for their family. Even if the lines of communication have broken down, a trained mediator may be able to help the parties re-open communication so that an amicable or uncontested divorce may still be possible.
Divorce mediation is cost-efficient: Attorney Stanley is one of few attorneys in the Austin area who will mediate divorces with only the parties. The result may be a divorce process that conserves the financial resources of each spouse — saving the marital assets for the spouses and the children, rather than spending all the assets on lawyers.
Divorce mediation helps with 'non-standard' agreements: If you and your spouse want to structure your divorce agreement in a non-standard way — whether that involves child custody, division of the marital assets, visitation or alimony — a trained mediator can help you brainstorm ideas and structure a divorce agreement that looks like you want it to — rather than an agreement written by a judge who is a stranger to your lives.
Contact Linda Stanley, P.L.L.C.
If you want to proceed with divorce mediation, we invite you to contact our offices to schedule a joint consultation. Call 1-866-930-6377 or 512-961-7607, or send us an e-mail.
Attorneys seeking mediation services with Ms. Stanley may access her calendar of available mediation appointments to check availability and send an e-mail requesting a specific date.
