Now that same-sex marriage is legal in Texas, gay couples can enjoy the same benefits as their opposite-sex counterparts. But married same-sex couples will also face the same challenges as opposite-sex couples when going through a divorce.
A marriage is a legally binding contract, and terminating a contract always involves negotiation. As such, it is the manner in which a couple chooses to carry out their negotiations that can have a major impact on the amount of time and money they will invest in their divorce. It may also dictate the level of emotional duress they experience.
Quite frankly, acting in a cooperative manner will typically best serve both parties. And although it may be difficult at times, it is generally best to table the emotional conflicts and look at the situation from a practical, business-like standpoint. One way to do this is by engaging in a mediation process when hashing out the details of your divorce.
Typically, a mediation session is a small affair, consisting of both parties, their attorneys and a mediator. The atmosphere is less stressful and you have more freedom to express your needs than you would in a court. The idea is to work toward an amenable agreement in a non-adversarial environment.
But even if you are involved in an especially contentious divorce and do not want to be in the same room as your former spouse, you can still engage in the mediation process. This is because mediation can actually be carried out with each party working in a separate room.
At the Law Offices of Keith E. Holloway, we have experience representing clients in mediation sessions. On this website you can read how mediation has a high success rate of helping divorcing couples reach agreements.