FAMILY LAW MEDIATION IN TAMPA BAY

When most people think of divorce, they have in mind a process where they let a judge decide how property is divided, where the kids sleep at night, and how much financial support is paid. But most families would be better off making these types of life-altering decisions on their own, rather than leave them up to an overworked public official. That is why Family Diplomacy offers private alternatives to litigation, including Collaborative Practice and mediation, which can be used in divorce, paternity, and other family law matters.

A VOLUNTARY DIVORCE AND FAMILY LAW PROCESS

Mediation is a voluntary process where you and your spouse meet with a neutral and impartial professional who helps you reach an agreement. The mediator cannot decide issues or impose a settlement; a binding decision will be reached only if both parties agree on its terms. Further, mediation provides you with the flexibility to agree to terms that a judge would never order to meet the particular needs of your family.

Defining “Collaborative Mediation”

If you do a Google search for “Collaborative Mediation,” you will get all sorts of results, many of which have nothing to do with one another.  Many articles simply point out the differences between Collaborative Divorce and Mediation (one of my blog posts would be included with this group).

Other articles will use the term to be a synonym with Collaborative Divorce, referring to neutral professionals (typically a financial professional and licensed mental health professional) as mediators, even if those professionals have not been trained as mediators.  This seems misleading to me.   Still, other articles use the term to mean a friendly mediation or an interdisciplinary co-mediation where lawyers are optional.  I have concerns about those articles because, despite using the term “collaborative,” what they describe is not a Collaborative Law Process as defined by the Florida Statutes or Uniform Collaborative Law Act/Rules.  Again, this is misleading.

I recently was at the 12th Annual Conference of the Florida Academy of Collaborative Professionals (“FACP”) where I presented on the topic of “Collaborative Mediation: Engaging Mediators in the Collaborative Process.”  My co-presenters were Heather McArthur, co-founder and president of Collaborative Professionals of Central Florida and Florida Supreme Court Certified Family Law Mediator, and Keith Grossman, a Florida Supreme Court Approved Primary Family Mediation Trainer and president of the Southwest Florida Collaborative Professionals Association.

As I have not found a good definition anywhere else, one of my goals in co-presenting on this topic (and writing this article) was to define the term “Collaborative Mediation.”  Additionally, I hoped to shed light on this distinct model of Collaborative Practice, find a way to better engage mediators in the Collaborative Process, and offer an option under certain circumstances that could bring more clients and lawyers into the Collaborative Method.

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2024 FACP Conference Early Bird Rate Ends This Week

I am excited to lead a workshop at the 12th Annual Florida Academy of Collaborative Professionals (“FACP”) Conference, taking place April 18-20, 2024, in Boca Raton, Florida.  The Conference, which is dedicated to lawyers, judges, mental health professionals, financial professionals, mediators, and other professionals who want to help divorcing families in a better way, has an early bird registration rate that ends March 8, 2024.

Click Here to Learn More About the Conference and Register

 

From the Conference Website:

The theme of the conference is All the Pieces Matter: Getting the Most Out of Your Team.

Teamwork is the bedrock of the Collaborative Process. Building the right team to lead divorcing clients through difficult decision-making is critical to the success of the Collaborative matter. This year’s conference will look at how teamwork can make the impossible come true. We will share with our FACP membership unique techniques, experiences, protocols and methods colleagues and Collaborative leaders have created and applied, which have promoted more successful divorce outcomes in their Collaborative matters.

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Interview: Mosten on Peacemaker Practice Self Survey

I recently had the opportunity to interview ADR legend Forrest “Woody” Mosten.  Woody has been on the forefront of Mediation and Collaborative Practice and is the founder of Unbundled Legal Services.  Woody also happens to be a friend and mentor of mine and my co-author of “Building A Successful Collaborative Family Law Practice” published by the American Bar Association in 2018.  You can find the video below.

You can find the Peacemaker Practice Self Survey reproduced below.

PEACEMAKER PRACTICE SELF-SURVEY

Forrest S. Mosten and Kevin Scudder[1]

Peacemaker Professionals are lawyers, mental health professionals, and financial professionals who deliver services to clients in a number of roles: Advisor, Information Provider, Organizer, Legal Counselor, Mediator, Evaluator, and other forms as service-provider.

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Online Divorce Mediation in Florida

Are you heading towards divorce during the coronavirus pandemic?  Are you social distancing and not wanting to risk infection by meeting for negotiations in person?  Would you prefer to proceed with divorce without getting lawyers involved?  Then Online Divorce Mediation may be the best option for you.

The Basics of Divorce Mediation

In Divorce Mediation, whether virtual or in person, you and your spouse together hire a neutral mediator.  As the mediator, I cannot make any orders or force you into an agreement.  Rather, I help facilitate an agreement between you and your spouse.  I can use my general experience and knowledge of the law to provide you with information and help you develop options, though (because I am not acting in the role of a lawyer) I cannot provide legal advice.

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Tips for Divorcing During Coronavirus

These are not normal times, and coronavirus is changing every aspect of life from working, to shopping, to interacting with family.  Divorce is not immune to these changes, and the way you approach divorce must, by necessity, be different.

Here are tips on divorcing during coronavirus.

Take a Breath

Divorce is difficult enough in the best of times.  During coronavirus, you are likely facing two traumas at once:  the end of a relationship with someone you thought you would be with forever, and the upending of your life and inability to go out and be with friends who would otherwise console you.  You or your spouse may begin doing things or saying things that seem completely out of character.

Take a breath.  A deep breath.  Try to center yourself.  This is especially important if you have children who are looking to you to be their rock.  They, too, are probably frightened, and need you to be stable for them when there is much instability around them.

And even if you do not have children, it is important that you make wise decisions now.  After all, these decisions will likely affect the rest of your life.  And you may find that these decisions may be easier if you just stop and take a deep breath first.

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End-of-the-Year Divorce MediationMediation

End-of-the-Year Divorce Mediation

Do you hope to complete your divorce process by the end of the year?  Are you looking for a divorce mediator in Tampa Bay who can meet with you and your spouse in a non-adversarial setting?

We have slots for end-of-the-year divorce mediation open throughout December (including around Christmas).  With us, not only will we work with your schedule, but you will find a different mediation experience than other local mediators offer.  Our model is based on our experience working and authoring a book with internationally-respected leaders in the mediation field.

Let me explain a bit about how we are different in that we encourage face-to-face mediation. This offers several advantages over the caucus-style mediation that is more common in Tampa Bay.

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What is Marital Mediation?

Mediation has been around for a while to help people privately resolve disputes.  Generally, it has been associated with helping parties resolve legal issues, such as divorce, paternity, or even contracts or business disputes.  But mediation can also be used to resolve every day disputes.  In fact, the purpose of marital mediation is to help strengthen marriages.

Marital mediation is a concept promoted by New York psychologist Ken Neumann and Boston family attorney John Fiske.  In marital mediation here in Tampa Bay, you sit down with neutral co-mediators.  One is trained as an attorney, and the other who is trained as a therapist.  However, they will not be providing therapy or giving legal advice.  Rather, the co-mediators help you identify the issues that are causing problems in your marriage and help you reach agreements.

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Cordover Receives Avvo Client Choice Award

Collaborative family law attorney and Florida Supreme Court Certified Family Law Mediator Adam B. Cordover received the 2018 Avvo Client Choice Award.  The Award is provided to attorneys who receive five or more 4+ Stars in a calendar year (all Adam’s reviews have been five out of five stars).

Cordover receives 2018 Avvo Client Choice Award

Below are the reviews in 2018 that lead to the award:

Mr.

Adam was and still has been a tremendous resource to me with my tumultuous divorce process. He was honest and fair – he put me in my place when I got too riled up during the process and provided me a real picture of what needed to be done – and what the potential outcomes could be.

Adam was not an attorney that billed crazy hours and prolonged the case – he was steadfast and eager to help me – he did not ever drag things out like a lot of attorneys do just for some extra billing.

My case ended – and even after we had completed our business relationship, Adam continues to demonstrate his compassion towards me and my challenges with living as a divorced single father – not for the money – he seems to do it because he has taken ownership of my post-divorce challenges at times.

I highly recommend anyone going through a divorce to speak to Adam first about a collaborative approach to marriage termination – as well as all family legal matters.

While no one wants to face the challenges or realities that come with divorce, Adam will show you the truth before anyone else knows it – and help you plan for your future.

Posted by Kenneth on Avvo.

Five out of five stars.

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Alimony Tax Deduction: Is It Too Late To Divorce in 2018?

Have you heard the news about the alimony tax deduction?  It is going away for divorces finalized after December 31, 2018.  But fear not!  If you and your spouse act smartly and quickly, you can still lock in your alimony tax deduction.

What is the Alimony Tax Deduction?

The alimony tax deduction is currently enshrined in 26 U.S. Code section 215.  It states that alimony (as opposed to child support or distribution of property) can be tax deductible to the payor and taxable to the payee.  This means that the person who pays alimony will pay less in taxes, and the person who receives alimony will pay taxes on it as if it were regular income.

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Why Trump and Kim Could Use a Mediator

A mediator is not just for divorce.  In fact, there is an organization, Mediators Beyond Borders, which promotes the use of mediators in all sorts of international conflicts.  A representative of the organization has even spoken in front of the United Nations to encourage mediation.

Mediator

Regardless of your perspective on the recent summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jung Un, there is one thing that seems clear to me: they could use a mediator.

How Mediators Could Help in International Diplomacy

Here is how a mediator could help:

  • A mediator is a neutral third party who helps people resolve disputes.  Though the first meeting between the national leaders seems to have had a friendly tone, there is no doubt that things will get tough.  In divorce negotiations, discussions can start off easy, but many times they devolve.  A mediator can be there to keep discussions focused on the future rather than past actions and words that caused the dispute.  A good mediator could keep President Trump and Chairman Kim focused on the future. Read more