Buying a Home: Why Legal Help Matters

Mediating a divorce, as opposed to heading straight for litigation, can save you the cost (emotional and financial) of going at each other in court. However, it doesn't mean you dispense with the services of a divorce lawyer; here are some of the issues a good lawyer can help with during divorce mediation:

Preparing Legal Documents

Divorce is a legal process irrespective of the approach you give it. This means even if you are taking the mediation approach, there will still be papers to deposit with the court to ensure that the process is legally above board. Legal papers have to be drafted in a certain way, and even the slightest errors can derail your plans. The divorce lawyer is there to ensure that all the papers and documents are properly prepared to avoid legal setbacks.

Reviewing Your Divorce Agreements

At the end of the mediation process, you are supposed to put down all the things you have agreed upon in writing. This is your divorce agreement, which you are supposed to deposit with the court so that it becomes legally binding and both of you are expected to uphold it. It would be dangerous for you to deposit an agreement that doesn't say exactly what you want it to say. That is why you need a lawyer to review the divorce agreement before you can take it to the court.

Informing You of Potential Court Outcomes

Divorce mediation is supposed to save you from the hustles and costs of a court process or even give you a better outcome than you would get from a litigation process. There is no use mediating your divorce if the agreements you can reach are worse than what you can get from the court. However, you may not know whether the mediation or court process would be fairer for you if you don't understand divorce laws. Consulting a divorce lawyer during the mediation process will help you know how the court is likely to rule on each issue so that you don't end up with the short end of the stick after the mediation.

Advising You on Legal Aspects of the Divorce

Lastly, consulting a divorce lawyer during mediation also gives you someone you can consult on legal issues. This is the person you contact when you want to understand whether the court will allow you to give a quarter of your monthly income as child support or the amount is too low. This is the person who can clarify how long you will be required to pay spousal support to your soon-to-be former spouse.

For more information, contact companies like Begley Carlin & Mandio LLP.