Even before Covid-19 hit and businesses who may have never thought about moving online were forced to move their services online to continue to provide services, we offered online mediation to allow clients to get a divorce online. At this time, we are only providing our services online, and even as California begins to open up, we will continue to meet with clients online. There are many questions as to how to get a divorce online. Therefore, we wanted to address some of those here.
What Is Online Divorce Mediation?
Online divorce mediation is very similar to in-person divorce mediation; however, except for meeting in person with your spouse and mediator, all meetings and work are done online. This includes individual and joint meetings as well as reviewing and signing agreements reached during mediation. Our mediators will still provide the same level of service and expertise that they would do in person. You can get a divorce online without ever meeting your mediator in person.
What are the Benefits of Online Divorce Mediation?
Although we’ve offered online divorce mediation for many years now, we found that not many of our clients took advantage of this option, and we did 95% of our mediations in person. However, there are many benefits of online divorce mediation, and for some people, it may even be a better option.
- Be in separate rooms: Getting a divorce online allows you to do mediation without being in the same room as your spouse. By completing your divorce online through the use of zoom or another online service you don’t even have to be in the same room as your spouse. For many people, this is a benefit, especially if there is a concern about harassing behavior or actions. By meeting on zoom, you’re able to remain in the comforts of your own home and feel comfortable knowing that there is a screen between you and your spouse. I have found many couples who might not have previously felt comfortable meeting jointly find they are comfortable doing online meetings together because they don’t have to sit in the same room as their spouse.
- More convenient: Long gone are the days where you have to drive to get to your meeting. All you have to do is logon to your computer and start your zoom meeting. This can be done anywhere in your home or somewhere else if you choose and allows you not to waste your time driving somewhere and potentially sitting in traffic. Living here in California, traffic can be awful at times, and you never know whether a 5-mile drive is going to take you 10 minutes or an hour. Online mediation means you never have to deal with traffic or even getting in your car.
- Secure platform: Using online divorce mediation to get your divorce online is all done through a secure platform where it will only be you, your spouse, and the mediator during the meeting. Additionally, by using a secure portal and signing technology, we make sure that everything is done in a safe manner. You don’t have to worry about losing your hard copies of your documents somewhere, or whether your statements could be taken, everything remains secure online.
- More Cost-Efficient: Because all services are offered online and require less overhead for the professionals, getting a divorce online can be much more cost-efficient. This allows you to spend less money on your divorce and more on your family and child(ren). While mediation is always going to be a cheaper (and better!) option than a traditional litigated divorce, doing your divorce online can be even a lower cost depending on the services that you and your spouse need. Beyond the cost for the professionals by not spending money on gas, parking, and your time spent traveling, you’re saving money over meeting in person.
How Do I Get Started with My Online Divorce?
If you are wondering how to get started, it is simple, and one of our mediators would be happy to talk with you and see if online divorce is the right process for you. Scheduling a free consultation allows you and your spouse to ask questions of the mediator and make sure they’re the right fit.
Contact West Coast Family Mediation today to schedule your free consultation.
by: Amanda Singer
