Need Mediation? Need a Mediator?

Is arguing necessary? No, not always, but we are human. Everybody argues. Everybody gets tired and hungry and “hangry” (the kind of irritable people often get when they’re hungry). Before you start arguing and get drawn into nastiness almost unintentionally, stop. Wait. Agree to take it up a different time. Respect your partner, even if…

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“Nesting” Issues in Divorce Mediation

February 2020 Post 2 (Nesting) Nesting is a concept that some couples adopt temporarily or even permanently. In nesting the kids stay put, while the parents move or at least change parenting responsibilities. In the one home model of nesting. Parents may live mainly in different sections of the house (usually off limits to the…

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Nearing the End? Divorce Mediation and Child Custody Mediation Can Help!

It has been a long winter. These winters can wear on relationships, especially, if the fabric of your relationship was wearing thin even before the winter. How does a relationship wear out? Well, first, when partners stop talking, stop trying to work things out, problems can arise. Maybe you’ve tried to get your counselor to…

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Alternative Dispute Resolution in Divorce and Child Custody

I wanted to talk about Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) for divorce or child custody. ADR is the alternative to going to court (with attorneys or without attorneys). But there are many different ways to settle a dispute:Mediation (with or without attorneys) is where you sit down with your significant other with a mediator and try…

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How Much Does Divorce Mediation Cost?

People call me up quite often and ask me, first thing: how much do you charge per hour. Some people, when I quote them a rate, say thank-you and I never hear from them again. That’s unfortunate, because hourly rate is only a small part of what people should look at when selecting a mediator.…

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Divorce Mediation Stages

There are many divorce mediation stages. Rather than go into each one, I refer you to this site for an explanation. https://www.divorcenet.com/resources/divorce/divorce-mediation/the-stages-mediation.htm. Remember that according to Minnesota law, you do not need an attorney to be your mediator. Sometimes attorneys as your mediator can be very helpful, but with complex emotional issues it can also…

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Divorce Mediation and Holidays Part II

What ideas are most important to you when you are figuring out child custody issues during divorce mediation? If you know, your mediation will be much easier (and your life will be better AFTER the mediation). Is vacation time more important than holidays? If you need to go to a funeral with your child on…

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Divorce Mediation and the Holidays

When is divorce mediation very often needed? the holidays. When do folks want to least like doing divorce mediation? The holidays, of course. It is getting to that season again. When folks dread having to work out the holiday schedule with their ex for the kids. What’s the alternative? Doing it well BEFORE the holiday…

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Divorce Mediation: A Change of Seasons

Having trouble in your relationship, whether you’re married or not, is difficult. It can be especially tough if you have children from the now-troubled relationship. There is a tendency with most all of us to want to ignore issues for as long as we can. This leaning is especially strong when it is coming into…

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