Mediation is an alternative to a legal system that is too expensive and burdensome for regular people. It’s a more peaceful, less expensive approach (emotionally and financially) to conflict, separation, divorce and parenting decisions. It takes less time than other avenues and provides better outcomes. It involves you and your partner having conversations with a neutral third-party skilled mediator.
As a mediator, I help you decide what you want most. I’m a partner to help you do that! I help people have conversations and make decisions. The issues I work with are conflicts in domestic partnerships, marriage, separation, divorce and child decisions. That means I work with single parents, couples and families. I help you deal with your relationship your way without lawyers, ensuring good relationships are kept with minimal drama and disruption at a reasonable cost. Mediation allows you to take control of what your life is now and allows you to craft your future. It provides a conducive environment for making good decisions. It gives you more control than any other process will. If you have children, it’s important to know that mediation helps mitigate the damage divorce can cause to your kids so that successful parenting can happen and important relationships can be kept, maintained and even grow!
The pace of the mediation process is controlled by you, not by the availability (or at the mercy) of your lawyers’ or judge’s schedule. The amount of time spent in mediation depends upon how complicated your situation is and how cooperative the two of you are. Attending an introductory meeting with one of our mediators will give us more insight to roughly estimate on how long your situation might take. Sign up for an introductory consult to meet us and learn more!
I am so glad you asked. Yes. We have day, evening and weekend hours available. When we work with you, we talk about what your needs are and accommodate those where and when we can!
Great question! No, you don’t. Some couples use mediation to try to resolve conflicts in their relationship. More commonly, couples use mediation to help sort out co-parenting of kids; answering the questions of who is going to be responsive for what, when, how and where. People have also used mediation to determine how to share or make decisions about a beloved pet.
It helps if you are on good terms with your spouse (congratulations) but even if you aren’t, it doesn’t preclude the two of you from mediation. We get it if you aren’t talking with each other or communication isn’t going all that well… If this describes your situation, you are in the largest group of couples in conflict and you may or may not be considering separation or divorce. It’s a difficult time in your relationship and life! Mediators are trained neutrals skilled at helping people have conversations and find agreement. They shouldn’t coerce or make decisions for you—and our won’t. Having a neutral third party can make a significant difference in the kinds of conversations you have as well as the outcomes. What is required is a willingness to try mediation and good faith on both parties to resolve issues.
We utilize video and screensharing for our mediations. When you sign up, you will be provided a link to login for the video call.
For those who aren’t comfortable with video, we can do a phone call, meet at one of our convenient Twin Cities locations or another location mutually agreed upon. We are a mobile office. 😊
Often couples decide to split the expense. We offer competitive rates and convenient payment methods. During the initial consultations we will discuss cost and payment options to move forward with us.
An initial consultation is the first step. At the consult, both partners share their concerns, where they are in the conflict, separation or divorce process and identify what issues need to be discussed. It helps us at Great River understand and identify some specifics of your situation. It’s also a great opportunity for the three of us to determine if mediation and Great River would be a good fit for you and your situation.
(651) 399-2222 | info@greatrivermediations.com