Kelly Garrett-Hicks is a certified mediator on the St. Clair and Monroe County court appointed mediator list for family cases. Mediation is a process where the parties to the case work together to resolve any issues with the help of the mediator. Mediation is an excellent way to maintain more control over the outcome of your case and to reduce litigation expenses.
Mediation of parenting issues required by law or by the terms of the Parenting Plan
In cases where parents do not agree on issues regarding decision-making and parenting time for the children, the court requires the parties to do 4 hours of mediation. This type of mediation is court ordered or it may already be contained in the dispute resolution portion of the Parenting Plan.
In the mediation session, we address decision-making for the children in the areas of education, health, religion, and extracurricular activities. Also, we would discuss a weekly, holiday, and summer parenting time schedule. Additional issues to be discussed might be modification of the current parenting plan, communication, sharing of information, transportation, right of first refusal, and others depending on your unique situation.
The parents can mediate additional issues such as child support or children’s expenses if they have reached an agreement on parental responsibilities and parenting time and if they agree to continue to mediation other issues.
Mediation of all issues in a Divorce
Spouses can choose to mediate the parenting issues as set out above as well as financial issues. Hicks & Spector, LLC would not be acting as a divorce attorney, but as mediator. We will notify you of the information you need to bring to mediation such as income, asset, and debt information. During the session, we will work towards a full agreement on all issues in a divorce such as alimony, division of property and debts, and child support. Once an agreement is reached, it is set out in writing in a Memorandum of Understanding.
In Illinois, it is not ethical for one attorney to represent both sides of the divorce. Furthermore, an attorney who acts as mediator cannot then represent one of the parties in the divorce. Therefore, one of the parties would need to take the Memorandum of Understanding to an attorney to prepare the divorce decree and accompanying documents for the court. Even though an attorney is still needed, mediation can save a substantial amount of time and costs of litigation.
Uncontested Divorce
An uncontested divorce is when the spouses agree to every issue in the case i.e. parenting issues (custody), debts, property, retirement, etc. In an uncontested divorce, mediation is not necessary. Instead, one of the parties would need to hire an attorney to prepare the settlement documents. The other party could hire an attorney to review those documents if they choose to, but it not required to. We do also represent clients in uncontested divorces.
If you are interested in mediation, please contact our office to let us know what type of mediation you need and to schedule your first session.
It is important that you choose an experienced and knowledgeable attorney to represent you in your case. Contact Hicks & Spector LLC to schedule a free initial consultation to discuss your case.
Content contained on this site is for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice. You should consult an attorney of your choosing to discuss your particular case and to obtain legal advice specific to your situation.