Divorce Mediation of Easton, PA

Dr. Jonathan H. Gerard
610 248-1588
Contact Us

Divorce mediation is a voluntary problem-solving process in which a specially qualified mediator helps divorcing couples decide issues around parenting, support, and the division of property that will now be required because of the divorce.

The loss of a marriage can be one of the most difficult periods in your life. You lose your family, the home you knew, your way of life, often your daily connection to children and extended family, financial resources. Decisions you made in the past, based on your understanding and evaluation of another person, have not turned out as you had expected and lead you to question your judgment. The world is not as you thought it was.

The hurt one feels often leads to anger and anger leads to a desire for “justice” and retribution. This can lead to more decisions that will come back to harm you—especially any attempt to use the courts and attorneys to repair your loss and heal your wounds.

It is said that couples have a choice in a divorce—to give their money to their attorneys’ children or to their own, to divide their money between themselves or to give it to their lawyers. Especially in states such as Pennsylvania, where the law assumes a “no-fault” view of divorce, and where the courts inevitably divide resources relatively evenly between the divorcing couples and allocate support for children according to a set schedule, divorce mediation can bring a cooperative end to a marriage while preserving the former couple’s resources to help each attain whatever future they will choose.








WHO IS DIVORCE MEDIATION FOR?
Mediation is for...
  • Couples who have made a decision to divorce
  • Couples who are unsure whether to divorce but who want a separation
  • Couples with a dispute following their divorce decree


HOW DOES DIVORCE MEDIATION WORK?

With the assistance of a trained neutral third party, the couple works to identify, negotiate, and resolve in a fair way the issues raised by the decision to divorce. When those issues have been resolved, the mediator will draft a Memorandum of Agreement. The couple reviews this document and then gives it to their attorneys with instructions to implement it legally. The attorneys then draft a formal settlement agreement that becomes a binding contract. The divorce will then proceed through the courts “uncontested.”
                                   
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE?
Mediation varies in length depending on the agenda, the complexity of the issues involved, and the readiness of the couple. However, the average divorce mediation involves between four and seven sessions.


WILL EACH SPOUSE NEED AN ATTORNEY?

Each spouse should have his or her own legal counsel throughout the mediation process. While the couple will make their own decisions during the mediation, these decisions have to be informed and fair. The mediator may urge one or the other member of the couple, for the sake of fairness, to discuss an issue with an attorney before continuing the mediation process.


WHY USE DIVORCE MEDIATION OF EASTON?

Dr. Jonathan Gerard is a practicing marriage and family therapist, a trained mediator, and a rabbi who has served the emotional and spiritual needs of individuals and families since 1976. Divorce can escalate destructive cycles between even well-meaning people. We offer mediation that values the needs and well-being of both members of a divorcing couple. While we do not encourage divorce, when it is inevitable we help a couple to overcome hostilities so that they can fulfill joint and individual responsibilities in new and less destructive ways. The mediation we offer helps the couple to continue parenting without using the children as an emotional weapon. At its best, it is the beginning of a healing process.


WHAT DOES IT COST?

The cost of mediation is usually borne by both members of the couple. The initial fee—for up to four sessions—is $700. Additional sessions are charged on an hourly basis but a final agreement rarely costs more than $2000. The cost of a mediated divorce agreement can be far less than a divorce that comes from opposing lawyers and the struggle involved in the adversarial nature of the court system.


HOW DO I ARRANGE FOR DIVORCE MEDIATION?

Call Dr. Gerard at (610) 248-1588 for a phone consultation or to arrange for a first meeting at his office on College Hill in Easton. Appointments are available during the day or evening.

— "The research indicates that mediation is the more desirable couples to resolve contested child custody disputes. They also report much satisfaction with the process… Successful mediation clients are less likely to report problems with their court orders and are more likely to report that their spouses are in total compliance. The benefits of mediation clearly outweigh the costs."

—"Mediated agreements were viewed more favorably than stipulations arrived at through the adversarial system… Apparently, the method by which an agreement was reached was critical; the mediation process generated a sense of equity not felt elsewhere."

—Pearson and Thoennes, Family Advocate (1982)



Telephone: 610 248-1588 • Contact Us
©2010 Divorce Mediation of Easton • Easton, PA