Wendy Alton now certified in Collaborative Divorce

Attorney Wendy Alton is now trained and certified in Collaborative Divorce Law.  Collaborative Divorce is an out-of-court process for resolving the emotional, financial, and legal aspects of a divorce.  The divorcing couple commits to hiring a team of collaborative professionals who then work with the couple throughout a series of meetings in order to develop a mutually agreeable durable settlement.  

The collaborative process requires full disclosures of all financial issues, a commitment to stay out of court, and the engagement of a team of two collaboratively trained attorneys (one for each spouse), a neutral mental health professional (divorce coach), and a neutral financial specialist.  This collaborative approach allows the divorcing couple to utilize the professional collaborative team as necessary to work through emotional, financial, and legal issues within the divorce, and successfully reach a workable settlement that they both can comfortably agree to.  While the collaborative process is not for everyone, it can be a successful way for some couples to divorce more amicably. 

Wendy Alton is also a trained and certified family law mediator and a trial attorney with over 17 years of experience. If you have questions about the divorce process, contact Wendy and she can explain the options available to you, including traditional litigation, negotiated settlement, mediation, arbitration, and collaborative divorce.

What is Divorce Mediation?

The divorce trial of Dodgers’ owner Frank McCourt & his wife Jamie has taken a brief pause so that the couple and their attorneys can go through Mediation today in order to try to resolve and settle their divorce.

What exactly is Mediation?

Mediation in divorce cases is a private session between the couple, their lawyers, and a neutral Mediator, usually a lawyer who has been trained in Mediation, where they freely and openly discuss settlement of all or some of the issues in the divorce. In Michigan, everything that happens in Mediation is confidential, and offers and counter-offers exchanged in Mediation cannot be used in the Divorce trial or further proceedings. The Mediator’s role is to encourage the couple to work out their differences and come to a mutual resolution of all issues. If an agreement is reached, it is reduced to a final writing, a Divorce Judgment, and entered by the Court, thus ending the divorce.

Many divorce cases resolve in Mediation, and it is by far a less expensive alternative than a divorce trial. However, even in the middle of trial, like the McCourt’s trial, Mediation is also a tool to try to resolve issues that remain outstanding and disputed.

You can read the LA Times article here: Frank McCourt attorney's admission sets the stage for a possible settlement


If you are interested in learning more, please call Wendy Alton at 734-665-4441 or email her at walton@psedlaw.com. More information about her firm, Pear Sperling Eggan & Daniels, P.C., can be found here: www.psedlaw.com.
 
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