Divorce Mediation - Fox Valley, WI

Divorce does not always require two lawyers negotiating against each other.

For spouses who are able to communicate respectfully and want to work toward resolving their divorce together, mediation offers another option.

Attorney Renee A. Read provides divorce mediation in Appleton and the Fox Valley for spouses throughout Northeast Wisconsin. As a neutral lawyer-mediator with more than 20 years of Wisconsin family law experience, Renee works with both spouses to identify the issues that need to be resolved, understand relevant legal and financial information, consider possible solutions and work toward agreements.

The spouses make the decisions. The mediator helps them through the process.

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Understanding Divorce Mediation

What Is Divorce Mediation?

In divorce mediation, both spouses work with a neutral mediator to address the issues that must be resolved as part of their divorce.

Depending upon the circumstances, those issues may include:

  • Property and debt division
  • The family residence and other real estate
  • Retirement and investment accounts
  • Businesses and professional practices
  • Maintenance
  • Legal custody and physical placement
  • Child support
  • Health insurance and child-related expenses
  • Tax considerations
  • Other financial or family issues

Mediation does not require spouses to have everything worked out before they begin. Often, the reason for mediation is that there are issues they have not been able to resolve on their own.

What matters is whether both spouses are willing and able to exchange necessary information, consider different options and make a genuine effort to reach resolution.

The Role of a Neutral Lawyer-Mediator

When Renee represents an individual client in a divorce, she advises and advocates for that client. Her role as a divorce mediator is different.

As a mediator, Renee is neutral. She does not represent either spouse or advocate for one spouse against the other.

She can explain Wisconsin divorce law and procedure, provide legal information, identify issues that need to be addressed and help the spouses discuss possible ways of resolving those issues. She cannot give either spouse individual legal advice about what that person should do.

The mediator’s role is not to decide who is right or determine what the outcome should be. It is to help both spouses understand the issues, consider their options and determine whether they can reach an agreement.

Either spouse may consult with an independent attorney during mediation or have an attorney review a proposed agreement before it is finalized.

How Does Divorce Mediation Work?

Every divorce is different, but mediation generally begins by identifying the issues that need to be resolved and determining what information is necessary to make informed decisions.

For financial matters, this may include information about income, bank and investment accounts, retirement assets, real estate, debts, business interests, insurance, employment benefits and other significant assets or obligations.

Parents will also need to address legal custody, physical placement, child support and other child-related issues.

Once the necessary information is available, the spouses can begin working through the issues that remain unresolved.

Renee helps keep those discussions focused, provides relevant legal information, raises issues the parties may not have considered and helps them evaluate possible solutions. The spouses remain responsible for deciding whether a proposed resolution is acceptable to them.

You Do Not Have to Agree About Everything to Mediate

Couples sometimes assume divorce mediation is only for spouses who have already agreed on the terms of their divorce.

It is not.

Spouses can disagree about property division, maintenance, parenting arrangements or other significant issues and still participate productively in mediation.

What mediation does require is a willingness to participate honestly and voluntarily. Both spouses need to provide necessary information, listen to the other’s concerns, consider possible solutions and be able to make decisions without intimidation or coercion.

A productive mediation can include disagreement. It simply provides a different way of working through it.

Mediation for Complex Financial Matters

Divorce mediation is not limited to couples with simple finances.

Business owners, executives, physicians and other professionals with significant assets, businesses, professional practices, investments, real estate or other complicated financial circumstances may also be good candidates for mediation.

Complex finances require accurate information. A business may need to be valued. Real estate may need to be appraised. Tax or accounting questions may require additional analysis.

When appropriate, an accountant, business valuation professional, appraiser or other neutral professional can provide information the spouses need to make informed decisions.

The objective is not to simplify an issue that is genuinely complicated. It is to obtain the information necessary to address it and then work toward a resolution.

Can I Still Talk to My Own Attorney During Mediation?

Yes.

Using a neutral divorce mediator does not prevent either spouse from consulting with an independent attorney.

A spouse may want individual legal advice about a particular issue or may choose to have an attorney review a proposed agreement before it becomes final.

What Renee cannot do is serve in both roles. She cannot act as the neutral mediator and also advise or advocate for either spouse individually.

Is Lawyer-Led Mediation the Same as Handling Our Divorce on Our Own?

Is Lawyer-Led Mediation the Same as Handling Our Divorce on Our Own?

No.

The spouses remain responsible for their decisions, and Renee does not become either person’s attorney. However, working with an experienced Wisconsin family law attorney as mediator is different from trying to identify and resolve all of the legal issues without professional assistance.

Renee can explain the divorce process and relevant Wisconsin law, identify issues that need to be addressed, help organize the information needed to make decisions and facilitate discussions about possible resolutions.

The purpose is not to make decisions for the spouses. It is to help them make their own decisions with a better understanding of the issues involved.

Is Divorce Mediation Right for You?

Mediation can work for spouses who have relatively few disagreements and for those who still have significant issues to resolve. What matters most is whether both people can participate effectively in the process.

Mediation May Be a Good Fit When:

  • Both spouses want to make their own decisions rather than have a judge make them
  • Both are willing to exchange financial and other necessary information
  • They can communicate respectfully, even when they disagree
  • Both are willing to consider possible solutions
  • They want to avoid unnecessary conflict
  • Each spouse can participate voluntarily and make independent decisions

Mediation May Not Be Appropriate When:

  • There is domestic violence, intimidation or coercion
  • One spouse cannot participate freely or effectively
  • There are serious concerns about hidden assets or financial dishonesty
  • One spouse is unwilling to provide necessary information
  • The level of conflict makes productive discussions unrealistic

Determining whether mediation is appropriate is an important part of the process itself.

Why Consider Divorce Mediation?

For the right couple, mediation can provide a more direct and flexible way to work through the issues involved in divorce.

Control
The spouses make the decisions rather than turning unresolved issues over to a judge.

Flexibility
The parties can consider different solutions based on their circumstances rather than assuming there is only one acceptable outcome.

Efficiency
When spouses can work productively together, mediation may reduce some of the time and expense associated with a more adversarial divorce.

Reduced Conflict
Mediation does not eliminate disagreement. It provides a structured way to work through disagreements without creating unnecessary conflict.

For parents, learning to resolve disagreements constructively can also be valuable after the divorce, when they will continue making decisions involving their children.

Experienced Wisconsin Divorce Mediation

Renee brings more than 20 years of Wisconsin divorce and family law experience to mediation, including experience with property division, maintenance, businesses and professional practices, legal custody and physical placement, child support and complex financial matters.

She has also completed 30 hours of Interdisciplinary Family Law Mediation Training through the Family Mediation Center in Milwaukee.

Her approach is straightforward: identify what needs to be resolved, make sure both spouses have the information they need, explain the relevant law and available options, and help them work through disagreements without creating more conflict than necessary.

The goal is not for either spouse to “win.” It is to determine whether both can reach a resolution they are willing to accept.

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