Facing divorce is typically one of life’s most emotional and devastating experiences. The decision to end a marriage involves many considerations and demands much thought. Divorce often is charged with negative feelings and questions about the legal process.
Both Scott Benkie and Doug Crawford are Registered Family Law Mediators in the State of Indiana and are prepared to assist you in navigating a very difficult divorce experience.
Divorce can be very expensive and our firm is committed to helping you resolve your divorce without incurring exorbitant costs and fees. We can represent you as your attorney, and advocate vigorously for you or, in the alternative, we can serve as a neutral divorce mediator to help both you and your spouse resolve your divorce reasonably and without expending excessive emotional currency and potentially exhausting your family’s hard-earned assets.
You will have questions of spousal support, division of property, child support and custody. Not every divorce involves all of these issues, but our firm is prepared to help you tackle each issue unique to your case.
With regard to child custody, the Court bases its decisions on the best interests of children; therefore, it is helpful to try to work together with your spouse to provide your own custody and parenting time arrangement that you feel will be best serve your child or children. There are cases, regrettably, where there has been neglect and abuse and these factors must be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. Our goal is to facilitate your successful transition to the next stage of your life by providing sound advice and the opportunity to resolve your divorce in a reasonable way using mediation, crafting your own solutions, as opposed to fighting and relinquishing decision-making to the courts.
If mediation will not work in your case, our firm is available to represent you individually, advocating your interests. It will be your decision as to whether you wish to retain our firm on your own behalf or whether you and your spouse wish to use our firm to mediate your divorce. Either service is provided through our firm. We look forward to serving you and helping you during this difficult time in your life.
The process of reaching a reasonable resolution by mediation in your divorce.
This is how it works. Our firm will schedule a block of time for you and your spouse with a Registered Family Law Mediator, Scott Benkie or Douglas Crawford, and they will assist you in reaching an agreement resolving all issues. They will also prepare the necessary paperwork for a court to finalize your divorce, which includes a Property Settlement Agreement and Decree of Dissolution. Should it be necessary to schedule additional sessions, this can be accomplished in order to finalize your divorce. The charge for the mediation will be a flat fee.