Do I need a lawyer if we are using divorce mediation?
Do you need an attorney if you are using divorce mediation? Attorneys are recommended even if you and your spouse are using the mediation process in your divorce. Find out why in this video answer from Bari Weinberger of Weinberger Divorce & Family Law Group, LLC:
So many people want to know, “Do I also need an attorney if I already have a mediator?” And the short answer is: Probably. In divorce mediation, the mediator is there to facilitate an agreement between you and your spouse, and that mediator can, in fact, do that. But you should always know that if you have an attorney on hand, whether at the mediation session or maybe back at their office, that attorney can give you advice, either to gear up and get prepared for the mediation session or to come with you to mediation session to actually assist in bringing out the resolution. But even if you don’t have the attorney at that time and you do get an ultimate resolution at the mediation session, the mediator is not going to create the settlement agreement for you and your spouse. The mediator is going to create something called the Memorandum of Understanding. That document is just an outline of your overall settlement terms. That Memorandum of Understanding usually goes directly to the parties and/or their attorneys, and then the attorneys draft up the final contract for the parties to sign and that contract is what is final. Then the attorneys submit a complaint for divorce to the court and the contract that’s been signed by the parties, that settlement document, gets incorporated into a final judgement of divorce. So having an attorney is always advisable.
Ready to find out more about what mediators do and the family law or divorce mediation at Weinberger Divorce & Family Law Group, LLC?
