Divorce isn’t easy. For some, it’s a challenging labyrinth of legal intricacies; for others, it’s a battleground of emotional turmoil. Unmani Saraswati, of Mediation Offices in Oakland, CA, is a leading family law mediator in Alameda County, is happy to debunk some myths about divorce mediation which can prevent couples from taking a smooth, collaborative approach to their separation. Myth 1: Mediation is Only for Amicable Divorces One of the most prevalent myths is that mediation is only for couples who are parting ways on friendly terms. Unmani can attest that that is not the case, at all. I ..read more

Navigating the intricate waters of a divorce can be overwhelming, to say the least. However, you don’t have to travel this arduous journey alone. Unmani Saraswati is a divorce mediation attorney at Mediation Offices in Oakland, CA, and her goal is support clients in creating a structured environment for an amicable resolution. A divorce mediator plays an integral part in facilitating a smoother, more manageable divorce process. The role of an Oakland divorce mediation attorney extends beyond mere negotiations, embodying a multi-dimensional approach to assist couples through this challenging tr ..read more

Navigating the tumultuous waters of divorce can be daunting. During such trying times, opting for a peaceful, cost-effective, and empowering alternative is the key to preserving your sanity and dignity. Mediation Offices, which has been providing family law services in Oakland and San Francisco for twenty years, offers clients such an alternative: divorce mediation. Since our goal is to offer the most current and effective services we now specialize in remote services, so our clients can develop their agreements from the comfort of their own home or office. Divorce Mediation in CA Divorce medi ..read more

When family law mediators get together, we often debate about whether it’s appropriate to accept mediation clients who are manifesting extreme stress or one or both of the potential clients has a high conflict personality disorder. There are mediator-attorneys who vociferously believe that the only appropriate mediation clients are people who are calm of demeanor and demonstrably get along. And then there are mediator-attorneys like me who just as fervently believe that everyone should be given access to out-of-court settlement processes, especially people who are having trouble coping with th ..read more

Prior to 2021, I had resisted offering remote mediation services. Occasionally, potential clients would contact me and ask me if I’d mediate their family law matter over Skype or FaceTime. I would always respond that my office did not offer those services because I fervently believed that the in-person conversational model of traditional facilitative mediation was a higher quality experience for clients. Then, often, I would work with them to identify a few facilitative family law mediators in their geographical area. However, by January 2021, after having had all my clients chose to put their ..read more

(Four minute reading time) Every state has a different approach to spousal and child support. This points out to us, like a big neon sign, that what happens around support orders in California Family Courts is not necessarily what’s fair or just or a best possible outcome. It’s closer to being, “Just what we do.” For instance, in Texas, spousal support—also called alimony—is only awarded in cases where the people have been married for ten years or more; prior to that ten year mark, a lower income wage earner is SOL in a Texas Family Court, no matter the circumstances (and I can’t help but ment ..read more

(Three minute reading time)   I had a day in the office recently which left me wanting to write about an important truth: most of us express our pain and stress as either intense anger or intense sadness and we’d all be better communicators if we started seeing both of those outer behaviors as manifestations of the same thing. Fear. Fear of abandonment; fear of change; fear of loss; fear of being rejected; fear of failure; because like it or not we’ve all got boatloads of fears and they drive much of our behavior. Imagine how different our lives’ difficult conversations could be if we wer ..read more

(Three Minute Reading Time) I have been a mediator-attorney working with divorcing couples for twelve years now and have yet to see any solution—whether it’s pre-set, flat-fee divorce services or the Elkins Family Law Task Force’s sweeping reforms instituted to try to make California’s family court system user-friendly to litigants without attorneys—get anywhere near making the drastic changes that would be necessary for California’s divorce process to earn the description: painless, easy, and free. When it comes to legislators, judges, attorneys, and entrepreneurs trying to make divorce painl ..read more

  From my point of view, choosing a professional is the most important part of your divorce process because they are the lens through which your experience is processed. If they say the sky is falling, you’re going to experience the sky is falling; whereas, in the same circumstances, other professionals might say that challenges have arisen but there is a way to empathize and respond with surety rather than fear. Therefore, do not choose your professional lightly as they will influence the very heart of your divorce story and experience. Nonetheless, there is no ultimately right or wrong ..read more

7/25/2016 UPDATE: THE FOLLOWING BLOG NO LONGER REFLECTS THE LAW AS FAMILY CODE SECTION 70 HAS BEEN ADOPTED TO END THE DAVIS DECISION The law is changed over time by the courts and the State Legislature —two government entities that are constantly changing things in an effort to improve how our society functions. For years, one of the most convoluted areas of California family law has been designating the date that a marriage ends. Attorneys call this subject “date of separation.” For ages the law in California has been that the date of separation is established when one person: 1) states that ..read more