What is Mediate to Stay Together?

If you are on our website, you are probably familiar with the idea of mediating to reach a settlement in a divorce or to make a parenting plan. You might have never heard of the idea of mediating to stay together. I will explain why mediating to stay together is a good idea for some couples and how it works.

Why Choose Mediate to Stay Together

When unresolved conflict threatens a relationship, many people think parting ways is their only option. In reality, there might be some very strong reasons to keep the family unit intact. Some people do not like the idea of not seeing their kids every single day. Others shudder at the thought of dividing their hard-earned assets. Many people have years of shared history with their partner and long to keep the familiarity of the relationship.

We have many clients who have joked over the years that they are getting along better after mediation than they were before and "maybe we should stay together." This doesn't have to be a joke. This can be reality for couples who mediate to stay together. Conflict is no fun but mediation offers a safe space with a trained professional to help you through the conflict so you can move forward to better times together.

Regardless of your personal motivation (the kids, money, fondness for your spouse), mediating to stay together can help resolve the conflict so you can live the life you want to live.

How Does Mediate to Stay Together Work

If you and your partner are interested in trying mediation, we will book a one hour consultation session. At that session, we will discuss what mediation is, what issues are you having and whether both partners are interested in moving forward with mediation. We will answer each person's questions and make sure each of you understands the process.

If you both decide that you want to move forward with mediation, we will sign an agreement to mediate and make a game plan for how to move forward. We will schedule your first mediation session. We will usually meet together for mediation sessions, but there may be times when individual meetings with me will help us move forward most efficiently. We have the option of in-person meetings, Zoom meetings, phone conferences and emails.

How is Mediate to Stay Together Different than Couples Counseling

As a mediator, my mission is to help you resolve conflict. With that as the goal, we are very "future focused" in mediation. We talk about the past only long enough to give me a sense of where we are now. We try not to get bogged down with what happened in the past. In a very real sense, the past is over. We want to focus on now and on the future so that you can make your dreams come true.

One of the most helpful parts of having a mediator work with you to resolve your conflicts is that we keep the discuss on track. When you and your partner are trying to reach a resolution on your own, often the conversation gets diverted into other issues. Having the discussion go from whether Aiden should play basketball this year to why we did not go to your mother's house for Thanksgiving last year usually only intensifies the conflict. Mediators can keep the discussion on track so that we can make a decision about the issue at hand before moving on to other subjects.

As a lawyer-mediator, I can draft an agreement so that you can memorialize your agreements in written form. For those wanting a document that would be legally binding in court, we can even draft a post nuptial agreement which each partner can have reviewed by an attorney of their own choosing.

Call us if you would like to set up a consultation for Mediate to Stay Together

We would love to work with you to resolve your conflicts so that you can live you best life. As you can see, there are many benefits to mediating to stay together for those who have the inclination to do so. Let us guide you through the process so you can resolve your conflicts and move forward to a better life.