By mediating your dissolution of marriage you will be taking the high road to resolving possible differences and moving on with your life. In mediation you will be able to freely discuss issues concerning  alimony (spousal support), child custody, child support, distribution of property, and division of debt.  As well as finances, living arrangements, household jobs, schedules and more.

You will be able to work though the process and find solutions that satisfy both parties. Mediation emphasizes its benefits on time and money. The time is important in a divorce, because the faster you are able to resolve and finalize all the terms, the faster you will be able to move on with your lives. Money, of course speaks for itself.

As an alternative to a court proceeding, mediation doesn’t mean that you cannot have a legal counsel. On the contrary, we recommend independent legal consultations for both sides – always. Once you are ready to take the step toward divorce, call for a consultation and get all your ducks in a row.

Debt collection companies try every trick in the book to get the money they feel you owe. Truth is that you probably do owe this money, of course in some rare cases the debt is unverified and unwarranted. Regardless of the reasons you were unable to pay the debt, you are now facing collection. However, when a collection company gets nowhere by calling you, mailing you letters, and attempting to collect the delinquent funds, they later file a lawsuit. Sometimes they do it to simply make sure that the statute of limitations does not run out, but more often than not, they legitimately take legal action in order to get a judgment.

By getting a judgment against you the creditors, or collection companies or even law firms are then able to attempt to garnish wages, place liens on your property and levy your bank accounts. California being a joint state, also allows the execution of the judgment to take place against spouse whom may, or may not have been named in the suit. Even if takes multiple years to later get any money from such a judgment, that’s okay. A judgment does not expire and accrues regular interest rate of around 10%. So taking all this into consideration, the alternative to aforementioned is negotiating an alternative resolution, most likely through mediation.

The process of negotiating with debt collectors through mediation is similar to any other mediation case, but the advantage one may have is not have to take care of the whole process in one day – one setting. Likely, the mediation would take place over several days, sometimes weeks, depending on the case. The mediator would work between the two sides to divide the pie, sort of speak and find a formula that would satisfy both sides – the creditor and the debtor.

Make no mistake, this is a process. It is not a one call communication or a casual phone conversation. Throughout the mediation documents will be exchanged, offers will be made and countered, emotions will be rattled and  integrity will be challenged. The good news is that once you emerge with a settlement agreement, just like 97% of people who go through our mediation program in negotiating credit card lawsuits, you will not have to worry about appearing in court or going through a long legal battle.

As always, we encourage you to speak to an attorney and get some legal advice – dot your i’s and cross your t’s before embarking on this journey. Just be sure to do so prior to the default judgment cut-off date and the benefits of staying in control of your case as well as ease, value and peace of mind will be well worth it.

In negotiation words like, chapter 7 or chapter 11 can be powerful tools, but rarely do they give the parties the results they need. Determining which bankruptcy to file should be done by an experienced attorney. However, there is an automated alternative. Well, semi automated.

Princeton Bankruptcy Group, provides an easy to use automated tool called BK Wiz to assist consumers in knowing whether or not they qualify for bankruptcy and if so, which chapter. Right Triangle Mediation does not promote bankruptcy as a go to alternative, but we do strive in providing all the tools necessary for our clients to find the right solution for them. This is why we have joined the Princeton Group and will advice our clients of this service as needed.

If you are considering bankruptcy and have already explored every other alternative out there, please take a look at the BK Wiz. It is a fast, easy and reliable way to determine your qualifying parameters for a bankruptcy. The cost, and the procedure is clearly explained on the BK Wiz front page.

Remember, filing for bankruptcy should always be the last resort, but if you have reached a point of no return you must do what is required.

Princeton Bankruptcy Group - We provide you with this tool to help you determine if you qualify for a flat-fee Chapter 7 Bankruptcy with Princeton Bankruptcy Group. Aggressive creditors? If you need quick relief, Princeton Bankruptcy Group offers an easy and low-cost Chapter 7 Bankruptcy for those who qualify. The retaining process can be done entirely on-line without the need for a time-consuming meeting in an attorney’s office. Our goal is to file your bankruptcy petition in the shortest amount of time possible to give you relief from your creditors as quickly as possible.

Read more on ABC News:

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/katie-holmes-tom-cruise-settle-divorce/story?id=16741187

Read and watch more here:

http://gma.yahoo.com/phantom-debt-collectors-india-harass-americans-demand-money-221109715–abc-news-topstories.html

From ABC News

How to Avoid Corporate Battles: Business Conflict Resolution | The Network Journal.

1. It is cheaper and less time consuming than the traditional divorce process. By choosing divorce mediation, you will save a lot of money on lawyer’s fees.  You will save a lot of time as well since most of the negotiations will be done in the office and not at the courthouse and since both parties are present during each mediation session This alternate method costs approximately 40% to 60% less than the conventional divorce litigation
2. It affords confidentiality and more privacy. Unlike divorce litigation, where private family matters, such as the state of finances and so-called dirty laundry maybe aired out in public, the mediation process keeps everything strictly confidential. You will never have to fear that your statements could later be used against you in court. For the most part mediation sessions are kept strictly private.
3. It gives you better control over the process. The ultimate goal of the mediation process is for you and your spouse to come to an agreement regarding the terms of your divorce. Together you will agree on how to divide your property and assign your debts, how to make major decisions regarding your children, how to share time with your children, and how to arrange alimony and child support. This allows you to determine your own and your children’s future without having to leave those important matters up to the lawyers or the judges. It gives you a unique opportunity to create a settlement agreement that is tailored specifically to your needs.
4. It induces less emotional stress and upheaval than the conventional divorce proceedings. The fact that you and your spouse have chosen divorce mediation over divorce litigation already lessens your stress significantly. This is because you have decided as a couple that you are willing to do what it takes to reach an agreement that is acceptable to both of you. The whole mediation process, because it is private and more informal, is really less stressful than having to fight it out in court. You and your spouse will sleep better at night for sure, knowing that you are both cooperating with each other and working together to do what is best for you and your children.
5. It has been proven to be highly beneficial to the children involved. Divorce mediation allows parents to come up with a mutually acceptable parenting plan that keeps the children’s best interests in mind. Research conducted by well known divorce researcher and mediator Dr. Robert Emery has shown that divorce mediation results in more parents being able to remain in close contact with children that are not in their custody and more harmonious relationships between exes. These benefits clearly make divorce mediation a viable alternative for couples seeking to dissolve their marriage.

There are a number of benefits associated with divorce mediation; however, the biggest benefit is quite possibly the fact that it helps divorcing parents to create a parenting plan of action that is acceptable to everyone. This is beneficial particularly to the children involved in the divorce, though it is beneficial to the couple as well.  Statistics indicate that children of divorcing parents do poorly in school, suffer depression and often have to grow up too fast. Additionally, the roles of parent and child are often reversed in difficult divorces. Mediators explain this to parents in mediation and help them to focus on the needs of their children, which are so often forgotten during divorce or worst yet, maybe used as leverage.

Mediation for divorcing couples also helps to make the aftermath of the divorce much easier. Parents can come up with a decision regarding the care of their children that is acceptable to both parties. Mediation will help parents to decide how to co-parent despite being a divorced couple, and how to continue raising children in an appropriate manner. Parents who go through mediation are also less likely to say negative things about the other parent to their children. Additionally, parents who undergo divorce mediation are more likely to make decisions together regarding parenting concerns, rather than override the other parent.

Another benefit of divorce mediation is cost. The average divorce can take months, hours of court time and exorbitant legal fees, and it can cost thousands of dollars. The average divorce mediation lasts approximately 8 sessions, two hours each. The cost of a mediator is approximately $2,000. The mediator does not tell the couple what to do; he or she merely guides them in the direction of mutual decisions and assists negotiation by empowering both sides.

Mediation may not be for everyone going through a divorce. Those who are ending an abusive marriage should first think of their safety and then the proper divorce procedures. Furthermore, those who do decide to have their divorce mediated will end up on better terms and they will teach their children the valuable lesson that conflict resolution should be handled with dignity, fairness and equality. Handling your divorce with mediation can make the difference between a bitter, angry divorce and an amicable, agreeable one. Just because the marriage is ending does not mean that both parties should suffer.

Each day I have a mediation, I try to use “the Prius” effect to find the common denominator between objecting parties and unite them on an idea. Often more than one idea. Even if that idea is that they both do not like the Prius. So what can we learn from this mode of universally appealing transportation?

We can learn that even though on the surface it seems like the product unilaterally captivates patrons as a package, it actually appeals to each for separate reasons. Some like the look, others the popularity and yet few simply the economical factor. So as it is the case in mediation we too must appeal to each party on their individual perspective. Just because someone wants the settlement for personal reasons and the opposing side for financial or maybe even political, it does not mean that they both cannot have what they want. On the contrary, they can and should.

I propose that instead of trying to argue and change person’s perspective we must abide by it and do everything we can to empower their point of view. In other words if someone wants to satisfy a desire for a monetary compensation we should speak to the desire as strongly as we can. We should allow this desire to flourish and grow. Only then will the settlement be a successful one. Only then the disputant can walk away saying the he or she got exactly what they wanted. More so if there are multiple desires it should be the mediator’s duty to recognize the core need and try to satisfy it. Much like the Prius does for each one of their drivers. This core desire has to be a positive one as only with a positive desire you can have a positive outcome.

Emotional Involvement in a Fairly Legal Resolution