Being financially responsible for your own expenses after a divorce can be liberating and terrifying at the same time.  What date to use to have your paycheck go into your bank account and their paycheck go into their bank account can be a tough call. And what date does support begin? What if there is not enough money to go around?  Such a scary thought to consider. One that may keep you up many a night. With the proper planning you will be prepared to face this challenge. ​ The professional divorce mediator at Westfield Mediation, LLC, will help you create a budget.  You will a ..read more

At Westfield Mediation, LLC, we have been helping clients through their divorces as divorce mediators for more than thirteen years. Over this time, we have gotten lots of questions from prospective clients. Some of the most common questions and their answers are below: Q: How long does mediation take and how much does it cost? A: Generally, divorce mediation takes 4-6 one-hour sessions. Clients choose the pace, but for most people, coming in every 2-3 weeks, the process takes 2-3 months. Many clients file for divorce after they complete mediation, and the Court schedules their hearing (which ..read more

Paperwork must be filed with the court and approved by a judge to get officially divorced in New Jersey.  You can submit the necessary court documents online.  You are not required to go to court to file.  You may also not need to physically go to court to get your divorce officially finalized and receive a final judgement of divorce. You may be able to appear virtually, depending on the judge’s preferred method of conducting court business.  However, if the judge wants to see you in person to grant you your divorce, then you will need to go to court for the one-time appear ..read more

Sometimes couples are thinking about getting divorced but they are not sure that they are really ready to move forward. Divorce is a big step, and often seems overwhelming. At Westfield Mediation, LLC, we always encourage potential clients to come in and learn more about the process. Going to an introductory meeting about divorce mediation does not require any commitment on your part. There is truth to the saying “knowledge is power;” and our clients find value in learning more about divorce and mediation, even if they are not sure they want to go down this path right now or ever. In our div ..read more

​Happy Valentine’s Day! Or is it? Valentine’s Day is a Hallmark holiday for sure.  But there is something wonderful about expressing out loud your adoration for your loved ones. If you are not happy in your marriage then a day that celebrates romantic love may feel like a punch in the gut rather than a warm hug.  You may find it strange to learn that as a divorce mediator I am not pro-divorce.  But I am pro-mediation if you have decided to get a divorce.  But what if you have not yet decided what you want to do.  Sometimes people ride the wave of the unhappiness until ..read more

With mortgage interest rates still high, some divorcing couples are deciding to live together in the family home after divorce. They figure that they will save some money in the short term while they wait for the housing market to shift.  Clients in these situations often need advice on how to make it work. For example, they may decide to create separate spaces in the home for each of them to stay. In addition, their parenting plan has to account for the fact that while both of them are home, only one parent is “on-duty”.  In divorce mediation, we help couples navigate this potentia ..read more

When you get divorced, child support is used to cover your children’s basic needs and can sometimes be rather straight forward in New Jersey under certain circumstances.  If all of your kids live at home with you and you and your co-parent’s combined net yearly income is under $187,200 then you can use the New Jersey child support guidelines to calculate the child support amount.  But what if one or more of your children are in college while one or more of your children still live at home?  Most of their basic needs are met while they live away at college, but then they are home ..read more

A recent New York Times article on the financial costs of divorce painted divorce mediation as one of the best alternatives for affordability. (“Can Divorce Be Affordable? Yes, but Only if Spouses Want It to Be” by Caitlin Kelly, The New York Times, Nov. 25, 2023).  At Westfield Mediation, LLC, we have long maintained that divorce mediation is the way to go for couples who want a less adversarial, less expensive divorce process. Using divorce attorneys is way more costly than mediation. In litigation, each spouse is charged by their lawyer for each hour spent talking to the client, worki ..read more

The holiday season is upon us.  Thanksgiving and Chanukah are in the rearview mirror already.  Christmas, Kwanza and New Years await.  Lots of family and friend time. Maybe an office party to attend.  Good food, sweet treats and celebratory beverages to enjoy.  Then there are all the gifts!  For many families there is a tradition to gift giving. A grab bag for all of the cousins/aunts/uncles.  Adopt a child in need to support each year. One small gift each night for Chanukah.  One big gift each year per child for Christmas.  Whatever you may celebr ..read more

Remember in the beginning of the year when you said 2023 would be the year that you move on from an unhappy marriage and start fresh? Well, now it is December and there is no reason not to begin divorce mediation now. For many people, December is the time that they complete the plans that they created earlier in the year. For couples considering divorce mediation, there is no time like the present.  Divorce mediation offers an affordable alternative to expensive adversarial litigation and gets you where you want to be faster with less drama. Starting now will allow you to begin the new y ..read more