Mediation and other forms of Alternative Dispute Resolution can save thousands of dollars, not to mention valuable time and the emotional toll of traditional litigation. It can provide a respectful, less antagonistic, and less expensive way to move forward in a safe environment. Lines of communication are kept open for continued co-parenting. We offer both Mediation and Legal Counseling and both services include Legal Document Production. We are able to complete all necessary filings so that neither our clients, nor their children, ever need to appear in court.
Mediation
Divorce mediation is not an adversarial process. You and your spouse with Mrs. England will focus on solutions, compromise and resolution. The mediation process cannot work and does not work without all three.
Divorce mediation does not have to be an all or nothing process. Successful mediation does not always resolve every single issue. There are instances where we successfully resolve some issues but others are left unresolved. Being able to resolve some of the issues can still save you many thousands of dollars and get both you and your spouse on the right path to resolving the other issues, in due time. That is why patience when going through a divorce mediation is a must.
Divorce mediation requires both you and your spouse to be willing participants. No matter how much you may want a settlement, if your spouse does not want to participate and is not willing to put in the time, it will not work.
When many people envision divorce proceedings, it frequently involves stress, emotion, and – almost invariably – a judge. We cannot alleviate the stress aspect altogether, but we can help clients to work together and determine terms of divorce in which everyone can get what they want. We want to help our clients achieve resolutions that everyone can agree on, without having to fight it out in a courtroom.
How does mediation work?
The top priority in the mediation process is to allow you and your spouse to meet and make decisions on the important issues of your divorce. In addition to other benefits, mediation is far less time consuming and expensive than litigation. The following is a basic outline of what you can expect from the mediation process:
- First appointment: You and your spouse will meet to discuss your goals and what you hope to achieve through mediation. Mrs. England will sit down with both of you and identify the issues that contain the least amount of disputes between you and your spouse. We do this so that we can get the easy issues out of the way and then focus our attention on the more difficult parts of your case.
You and your spouse will be assigned particular tasks “homework” during this meeting, for example bringing documentation. We will discuss the issues most important to each of you so we can determine where you and your spouse have common ground and on what issues we will need to help each of you reach resolution. - Subsequent appointments: Depending on how many issues you need to discuss, you will have a handful of meetings following your initial meeting. During these appointments, you and your spouse will negotiate the issues at hand. This process depends on the nature of the issues discussed.
- Final appointment/agreement: Once you have reached agreements on all important issues, we will gather all of the necessary notes and draft your settlement agreement. Your divorce agreement will then be sent to the Sonoma County Superior Court.
Legal Counseling and Document Preparation
Mrs. England provides legal counseling for those individuals that have questions about Family Law in conjunction with having all the necessary documents prepared to file for divorce. There are individuals and couples that have reached agreements regarding their divorce and wish to have the process explained. These individuals or couples may require some explanation on the difficult issues, for example the process of transferring interests in pensions, provide the law associated with the transfer of real property, etc. Simply put they already have their bargain but have questions. This allows the parties to limit attorney billing while navigating through their divorce.
Whether or not you Mediate or utilize England Law for Legal Services, we provide document preparation
If you prefer an alternative to having an attorney represent you in Court in your family law matter and you and the other party are unable to mediate for whatever reason, then we can still help you with drafting the required documents and forms required to initiate a divorce or other family law proceeding, obtain temporary orders, such as for child custody and visitation, child support, alimony, or to modify existing orders, often at prices comparable to what a legal document preparer would charge.
Mrs. England’s divorce document preparation services include minimum review due to the preparation of documents by her paralegal Kathy Zedrick, who is an experienced paralegal. We can help you with starting a divorce, responding to a divorce petition, filing and serving a Request for Order (formerly known as an Order to Show Cause), or responding to one. We can also help you with preparing the necessary financial disclosure forms for a divorce, or conducting and responding to discovery requests, such as Form Interrogatories and Demands (Requests) for Production of Documents.
WHAT TO BRING TO YOUR INITIAL CONSULTATION
An initial client consultation is an opportunity for you to become acquainted with the attorneys at England Law who you may choose to represent you and to handle your case. You will obtain information about the divorce process, the law and time permitted application of the law to your facts. To maximize your time in your consultation we have provided a list of items you may consider to bring with you.
- Make a list of questions that are important to you.
- Bring your or your spouse’s first and last pay stubs of the year.
- Bring your last joint tax returns (if you file separate returns bring both spouses’ tax documents) or at the very least each spouse’s W-2s, 1099 for mortgage interest and real property tax statement.
- If you have already begun the divorce process, bring a previously prepared financial statement, or Schedule of your assets and debts.
- If you have not begun the dissolution process, prepare a simple, handwritten list. The assets could include such things as business interests, partnerships, investments, bank accounts, real estate, vehicles, personal property, jewelry, collectibles, life insurance, club memberships, retirement plans, etc. The debts could include mortgages, lines of credit, credit card debts, pending lawsuits, student loans, or any other debt that you are aware of.
- If you have been served with any court pleadings, make sure to bring them.
Your first consultation will be maximized with the information you bring to your meeting.
Our Mission
We are dedicated to our work ethic and professionalism at all times. Clients can be assured that we will be compassionate, diligent and always respond to your questions or needs promptly.
We are committed to providing you with the highest quality mediation, legal counseling and self-help service. We approach every client with a focus on integrity, compassion, and dedication.
