Hollywood and other media sources often do the public a disservice by misrepresenting the nature of different types of legal proceedings. While this happens for many types of cases from civil lawsuits to criminal trials, divorce actions are one of the types of cases that are most frequently depicted inaccurately by the media. For every “War of the Roses” and “Kramer vs. Kramer,” there are many family court cases, including divorces and child custody disputes, which are resolved amicably without animosity and fireworks.
Many New Mexico divorce cases are handled efficiently without bitter conflict, which is especially true when both parties are represented by experienced New Mexico Family Lawyers who can offer a problem solving business-like approach to the process. While there are certainly divorces that will involve contentious issues with extensive litigation in a courtroom and sometimes even a trial, our experienced New Mexico Alternate Dispute Resolution Divorce Attorneys often assist our clients in settling their issues through various forms of alternate dispute dissolution (ADR), such as mediation.
ADR methods may be used to handle a wide range of divorce issues, which include the terms of property and debt division, parenting plans, parental responsibilities and decision-making authority, spousal support, and child support as well as other divorce and paternity issues. When parties utilize the ADR process, it can make for a less contentious divorce or custody case and result in more stable and mutually acceptable resolutions than those imposed by a family law judge. The ADR process also will typically be far less expensive than a contentious litigated divorce or paternity matter. In this multi-part blog post, we address many concerns and questions that we hear about alternate dispute resolution in New Mexico family law disputes.
What is alternate dispute resolution (ADR)?
While presenting evidence and arguments to a family law judge (referred to as “litigation”) is the process used to resolve family law issues when parties cannot reach an agreement, the process can be expensive, slow and unsatisfying in terms of a resolution. Alternate dispute resolution may take multiple forms in New Mexico, such as mediation, informal settlement discussion between the attorneys or a settlement conference overseen by a third party. These alternatives are designed to promote constructive negotiations that produce a marital settlement agreement (MSA) settling all of the issues in the divorce or to narrow the contested issues so that fewer matters need to be litigated.
The above information is provided to illustrate general principles of law and should not be interpreted as a specific legal opinion on an individual case. You should contact experienced legal counsel to get specific legal advice that is based upon your specific circumstances.
If you have questions about your alternate dispute resolution options for settling family law issues in New Mexico, the Jay Goodman & Associates offers a free consultation in our centrally located offices in Santa Fe and Albuquerque so that we can discuss your options. Call us today to schedule your free consultation at (505) 989-8117 to learn about your rights and options.
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