In Arizona, family law cases generally fall into two categories: parties who are taking their family law case to court for the first time (also known as "pre-decree" matters, such as the initial divorce) and parties who are returning to court, usually to enforce or modify prior court orders (also known as "post-decree" or "post-judgment" matters, such as changing parenting time or for enforcement of support).

Divorce or Dissolution Hypothetical: David and Christine

Hypothetically, let’s discuss the situation with David and Christina who have been married for 12 years and have 2 children, DJ age 10 and Eliza, age 6. David has been employed as a computer technician for most of the marriage and Christina is a teacher who has her summers off. They bought a house 8 years ago and the mortgage is $1200 per month. David moved into a small apartment three months ago. Christina also inherited $18,000 from her Uncle Huck three years ago that she used to buy her car, a Volvo SUV. David has a vehicle with a loan, Christina has a retirement plan with the State of Arizona and David has almost no retirement because they had a medical emergency three years ago for DJs fractured leg suffered in a ski accident. They also incurred an additional $8,000 in master card debt when Christina took time off to care for DJ. Both David and Christina have their differences but they have both decided they need to get divorced. They are able to talk together but they just do not agree on what they should do about custody, child support, the house, and their debt. They are not even sure what custody is all about. What happens with the pension? How do they get it divided? Who pays child support and how do they pay it? Who pays for Eliza’s piano lessons and summer soccer camp for both kids? Who has to pay back the Master Card debt? Can David expect Christina to help pay his rent for his apartment? 

David and Christina have decided they cannot each afford to pay for an attorney and they cannot afford to litigate and argue about the decisions that they have to make. They have set up a meeting with Best Mediation. Attorney Best meets with David and Christina together and they sign the mediation agreement and pay their initial retainer. After that, the real work begins. They all work together outlining all the parenting and financial issues. The mediator will provide the parties with pertinent legal statutes that may apply to their issues. And remember, anything the parties say in mediation cannot be used against them in court, it is a confidential process. It is decided at the first meeting that both David and Christina need to get copies of various documents, the retirement plan, pay stubs, tax returns, credit card statements, and so on. All financial documents must be disclosed so each party is aware of the assets and liabilities of the parties.

At the second meeting, the parties and the attorney are able to resolve all the issues. The mediator drafts a Rule 69 agreement and the parties sign it and leave the office.  The mediator then uses that Agreement to draft the pertinent legal documents; for David and Christina, that includes a Joint Parenting Agreement, a Property Settlement Agreement and a Decree. David and Christina wanted to file for file for the divorce after all the decisions were made. Once the initial filings are received by the court, it will be a minimum of 62 days before a judge will sign any final decree or other documents.  The parties must also attend a mandatory parenting class and file the certificate with the court before their decree will be approved.

Post Decree Hypothetical:  Jackson and Jenna

Jackson and Jenna have three children, ages 8, 10, and 15. They have been divorced for four years and share joint legal custody which allows both parents to be involved in major decisions of their children’s lives. Jack has a new job in Nebraska and is going to relocate. What happens to the parenting schedule of week on and week off? What about 15 year old Annie who does not want to ever visit Nebraska and has a summer job at the local Dairy Queen?  Does Jack have to pay more child support and how do they figure it out?

Jack and Jenna meet with a mediation attorney who outlines and discusses various choices and options that the parents can choose from. The mediator has experience with this particular scenario and is able to offer some creative and flexible solutions that are positive for everyone. This mediation lasted the better part of the afternoon and the parents left with a Rule 69 agreement that they were going to file for themselves. You might recall that a Rule 69 agreement is a written signed agreement. It was drafted for them while they were in the office and they took it with them when they left the mediation.  They decided they did not want to file it with the court.

Disclaimer:  Please note that these hypothetical’s are only for the purpose to provide real life examples. If your situation isn’t exact to the hypothetical explained above; mediation can still work for you as mediation can accommodate many different situations.  For example if you are only seeking a legal separation, or aren’t married to your child’s mother/father, or in circumstances of domestic partnership mediation can work for you. 
 

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