Weinberger Divorce & Family Law Group, LLC Attorneys Earn Credentials As NJ Court-Approved Mediators

We are pleased to announce that two of our family law attorneys have achieved the status of Court-Approved Mediator for the state of New Jersey. Congratulations to attorneys Allison Holzman and Jason Tuchman for their accomplishment and expansion of Weinberger Divorce & Family Law Group, LLC’s mediation services. Two other Weinberger Divorce & Family Law Group, LLC attorneys, Alison Dunn and Gregory Pasler recently completed advanced training in mediation. Read more

Divorce Secrets of the Rich & Famous

After three years of marriage, Khloe Kardashian filed for divorce last week from husband Lamar Odon, citing irreconcilable differences in public court documents released on Friday. It may make for juicy celebrity gossip to speculate about what went wrong for the reality TV couple, but if Kardashian and Odon are like most celebrity, high-profile couples, this first glimpse of their divorce will likely be the last glimpse until a final divorce decree is announced. Read more

Divorce Mediation: 3 Secrets of Successful Negotiation

As divorce mediation grows in popularity among couples trying to save money, time, and the hassle of going to court as they end their marriages, it puts the focus on the kinds of skills needed for this type of divorce process to be successful. Read more

Asking Your Spouse To Consider Divorce Mediation

You’ve done your homework and decided that pursuing private divorce mediation is in your best interest for settling your divorce matter as quickly and painlessly as possible. But will your spouse see mediation in the same light? Here are some tips for how to introduce your spouse to the concept and benefits of mediation, and why it may be worth the two of you giving it a try. Read more

Lessons from the Holmes-Cruise Divorce

Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise reached a settlement agreement in their headline-making divorce only 11 days after Katie filed in New York to end the marriage. The contents of the agreement are confidential, but the statement released by Katie’s legal team, “We are thrilled for Katie and her family and are excited to watch as she embarks on the next chapter of her life,” seems to be a telltale sign that the actress got exactly what she wanted. How did she do it? Here are three key ways Katie’s approach to divorce was incredibly smart: Read more

Divorce Mediation: Three Secrets to Getting What You Really Want

Divorce Mediation in New Jersey

When Kevin and Jessica entered divorce mediation, they both immediately demanded “school night” custody of their 7-year old daughter Lilly. It became such a stalemate that it looked likely the pair would need to go before a judge. As a last resort, the mediator took each aside and asked them privately to explain the real goal of their custody demands — what did Kevin and Jessica really want? Read more

Trial Freezes: Still Waiting for Your Day in Court?

Due to the state’s judge shortage crisis, divorce trials in Essex County, home to the state’s busiest courthouse, have been on hold since December 2011. Still waiting for your day in court? Depending on the issues involved, it may be wise to ask your divorce attorney if a form of alternative dispute resolution is appropriate in your case. Two of the most popular alternatives to litigation include:

Mediation: If both parties are willing, private divorce mediation can accomplish the same goals as litigation, but comes with the added bonus of helping you feel more in control of the divorce process.

What Happens: In a typical divorce mediation session, you and your spouse sit down with your attorneys and a neutral professional known as the mediator (often a lawyer or retired judge). At first, you may take turns identifying your individual needs and wants. The mediator then tries to facilitate a settlement discussion, talking about compromises that might make sense in your situation. However, a mediator only makes recommendations when asked — his or her sole goal as a neutral professional is to get the parties to come to a resolution that they can both live with. It should be noted that this process is not recommended for divorces where abuse or domestic violence is present.

What Else to Know: Mediation is completely private and non-binding. Let’s say your July 14 court date is postponed and you give mediation a try, but it doesn’t work out to your satisfaction and you decide to go before a judge in the fall. The courts won’t know what happened behind closed doors, so nothing that happened during mediation can be used against you (nor can it be used against your spouse). With that said, however, mediation is so popular precisely because people are getting the results they want.

Arbitration: Getting divorced through arbitration is similar to mediation in that it’s confidential and an out-of-court type settlement, but the arbitrator is the one who in the end decides the terms of the divorce, much the same as a judge.

What Happens: In a typical arbitration session, a neutral arbitrator–often a lawyer or retired judge–sits in a room with a stenographer and takes testimony. Unlike the give and take of mediation, you need to go into an arbitration meeting prepared and ready to present your case to this person in the exact same way you would a judge. After listening to both sides, the arbitrator deliberates and then hands down a binding decision that you will need to live with (or go to court to appeal).

What Else to Know: If you feel you have a very strong case and have demands that you know your spouse will not compromise to meet, this type of alternative dispute resolution may be the route to take. For those who want a third part to make a decision, but don’t want to linger in court system limbo over the summer, arbitration can be a very efficient way to reach a settlement.

How to Hire a Divorce Mediator

Divorce Mediation in New Jersey

In divorce mediation, you and your spouse (and your respective divorce attorneys) meet with a neutral third party, the mediator, and with his or her help, amicably work to reach agreements on all the pertinent issues of divorce, including child custody, division of assets, and child support and alimony payments.  Read more

Peaceful Divorce: How to Live Happily Ever After Even when Your Marriage Fails

It’s often taken for granted many times that divorce is a time of turmoil, anger, regret, hostility, and stress. Does that have to be the case? Recently, a “peaceful divorce movement” has developed to try to limit some of the emotional harm that divorce does to families. The goal is to enable couples, particularly couples with kids, to “un-couple” without ripping apart the legacy of their lives together. Family gatherings or childrens’ functions become a great deal more enjoyable when you don’t have to dread the presence of your former spouse. Read more

Would Divorce Mediation Have Protected Celebrity Zooey Deschanel’s Financial Information?

“New Girl” star Zooey Deschanel filed for divorce on December 23, likely hoping that news of her split from husband, Death Cab for Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard, would not be buzz-worthy enough to make headlines during the holidays. The low-key star may have escaped public scrutiny, except for one key mistake: the divorce filing was accompanied by a copy of the actress’s personal financial information.

Not that she has anything to be embarrassed about. Far from being a Hollywood spendthrift, Zooey’s divorce documents show a money-savvy starlet who even gives regularly to charity. Her income and expense declaration, according to TMZ, shows that Zooey makes $95,000 a month on her hit TV sitcom, but only spends about $22,500 a month on such items as:

-Telephone, cell & e-mail – $300
-Groceries – $1,000
-Eating Out – $500
-Dry Cleaning – $600
-Utilities – $800
-Clothes – $2,000
-Charity – $1,500

Deschanel’s statements also verified that she has zero credit card debt, and has saved up $1,578,000 in the bank, $1,645,000 in stocks and $693,300 in property, bringing the 32-year-old celebrity’s net worth to a cool 3.9 million.

Other than demonstrating the value of spending relatively little and saving a lot, Zooey Deschanel’s case teaches anyone contemplating divorce a valuable lesson in privacy. Could she have done anything different to keep her financial information out of the public eye? Yes, if she had gone the route of divorce mediation or if her attorney had advised her to get the financials sealed as part of the divorce process.

Because mediated divorce is handled privately, and not in a courtroom, financial statements are primarily only seen by the mediator and parties involved, except of course if other experts are brought in — this can ultimately keep them our of public divorce records. Celebrities, athletes, and other high profile individuals are often counseled to seriously consider mediation as a way to protect financial and personal issues during times of divorce. But even for non-celebrities, maintaining privacy is important and, in this way, mediation holds a key advantage over litigation.

Another way divorce mediation helps? Zooey and Ben Gibbard married in 2009 and don’t have children. However, for couples with children, the more amicable tone of divorce mediation can help to preserve parent-child relationships (and make co-parenting easier), as opposed to litigation which can further sever the relationship. Also, divorce mediation enables you to set the terms of your divorce and gives you great flexibility in the final outcome of your divorce settlement. If a judge is deciding, you place yourself at the mercy of the court, which may not be best in your situation.

As for Zooey, we know the “New Girl” is new to divorce, but we hope she starts to get some better advice on how to handle the proceedings without the gossip grapevine having access to her every move.

For more information specific to the divorce mediation in New Jersey, please read our “Divorce Mediation” page and contact us with any questions specific to your marital situation.

Additional Resources From Weinberger Divorce & Family Law Group, LLC on Divorce Mediation:
Blog Post: Seven Myths About Divorce Mediation

Resources:
Yahoo Finance – Zooey Deschanel Saves Her Pennies:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/zooey-deschanel-saves-her-pennies.html
The Washington Post – Zooey Deschanel Files for Divorce from Ben Gibbard:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/celebritology/post/zooey-deschanel-files-for-divorce-from-ben-gibbard/2012/01/05/gIQA5nGXcP_blog.html
TMZ – Zooey Deschanel Financial Net Worth Divorce:
http://www.tmz.com/2012/01/04/zooey-deschanel-financial-net-worth-divorce/