Divorce mediation often serves as a faster, more controlled alternative to divorce litigation. Couples who work together to settle their disagreements about financial and parenting matters can often divorce more quickly than those who must wait for a hearing in court and litigate their most serious disputes.
Although people do generally perceive mediation as a faster process in general, it is far from an instant solution. How long does it generally take spouses to settle their disagreements in mediation?
Each divorce timeline is unique
Some couples can resolve their divorce disagreements in a single mediation session. That session could last anywhere from a few hours to longer than a standard eight-hour workday.
Other times, couples may agree to mediation sessions that only last a set amount of time due to the constraints on their schedules or working with a high-demand professional. In either case, multiple mediation sessions may potentially be necessary before spouses resolve all of their disagreements and reach a settlement that they both deem appropriate.
There is no limit to the number of sessions that spouses can attend while trying to mediate divorce disputes. The mediation process could take weeks or even months if spouses require repeated sessions and downtime in between each mediation session. Even with higher conflict levels and multiple sessions, mediation can still be a faster and more cost-effective solution than family court litigation.
The number of disagreements between spouses, the level of emotional intensity and other details about a particular divorce influence a couple’s overall mediation timeline. Couples who want to divorce quickly often find that divorce mediation followed by an uncontested divorce filing is the most expeditious solution available.
