Divorce Mediation Service of Portland, Oregon - Mediator Lawyer 27 Years in Portland, Oregon For Sale

You are considering a divorce or separation. You are naturally nervous about the whole process. You are asking yourself if there is a better way.
There is. It's called Divorce Mediation. If you are interested in looking into mediation as an alternative to the traditional contested divorce, then read below.
[This posting is somewhat detailed, and I regret the length. It is intended to give you a fairly accurate description of the process and why it might be for you.]
WHO AM I AND WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOU?
My name is Lance Perdue. I offer an affordable service called Divorce Mediation Service. I can help you with the many requirements of a divorce: child custody, visitation (now called parenting time), child and spousal support (alimony), property and debt division, retirement division. You, your spouse and I can do this together in less than half the time and a fraction of the cost of the traditional lawyer-contested divorce. With far less stress.
I am an Oregon attorney with over 27 years experience in family law and mediation. By "experience" I mean I have been both a mediator and a trial lawyer in Oregon courtrooms for over 20 years, i.e, a practicing lawyer who knows what the law is and what the Oregon courts require in the divorce documents. If you are looking to mediate your divorce, look for experience, i.e., someone with at least 15 to 20 years of combined mediation and courtroom experience. Look for some gray in your mediator's hair.
I have done hundreds of divorces these last 27 years. I know what makes a successful dissolution of a marriage, as difficult as every divorce may be. I also know the tragic consequences of an unnecessarily hostile divorce, to each spouse, and to their children. And, I know the oppressive cost of the traditional divorce.
HOW DOES MEDIATION WORK? When I mediate your divorce, I do not represent you or your spouse. I am not your personal lawyer. I do not take sides. I am the neutral person who sits in the middle and offers both of you creative and practical solutions and twenty-three years of Oregon divorce law experience about how to accomplish your goal: a fair ending of your marital partnership. My only goal is to help the two of you reach a lasting agreement that will be recognized by the Oregon courts.
So what do my mediation sessions look like? Typically --- and not every mediation is identical --- you and your spouse will meet in my conference room around a large table, in a relaxed setting. We begin by me describing the process in detail, and you asking any questions you need answered. If you feel comfortable with my experience and neutrality, then we enter into an agreement for mediation. In that agreement, we all promise to be honest and fair with each other. Next, you will describe to me all of the circumstances of your marriage: children, assets, debts, incomes, health, work experience, etc. Then we will spend some time describing what kinds of things the two of you have discussed, what you agree on, and what, if anything, you do not agree on. We also discuss some questions that you may not have even considered, or that neither of you have thought about. We look at the areas where you disagree, and I will propose several alternative answers. I will describe many ideas that have worked over time, and perhaps some ideas that have not traditionally worked.
After we have spent a couple hours together at the first meeting, we will all have an idea of the things that we need to work out. Then we will adjourn our meeting, and I will initiate a kind of "shuttle diplomacy" between the two of you. I will draft up a proposed agreement with several alternative ideas of how to address areas of disagreement. I will send it to each of you, usually by email, but if you do not have email, then by regular mail. I will ask for each of you to review and comment on my proposed agreement, adding, revising, or deleting anything that you disagree with. I will attempt to incorporate your suggestions into the next proposed agreement, and send it back out to each of you for further revisions or refinements.
I often will speak to each of you on the telephone to learn your individual concerns about the process, and to gauge whether we need to have another in-person meeting with both of you to hammer out any sticky points, if there are any.
After as many rounds of negotiation as it takes --- this might take any where from a few days to a few weeks, depending on the individual complexities of your case --- I will draft up and mail a final agreement to each of you for your notarized signatures. Then I will draft up all of the other necessary documents for your divorce (there are at least six sets of documents), and will send everything out to each of you to review (with the consultation of your own lawyer, if you choose), revise if necessary, and then to sign.
Once this is all accomplished, I will take everything to the judge and get it signed, and your divorce will be over. Again, I will appear in front of the judge for both of you, to get all the papers signed. You (and your children, if you have any) will be spared the stress and humiliation of a nasty court battle.
Please be aware that the above description is only a typical mediation, and your case may be simpler or more complex, depending on the seriousness of any issues or disagreements. Typically, a mediated divorce can be accomplished in a matter of a few weeks, as opposed to several months of a traditional divorce.
IMPORTANT: You must know one thing. Because of my experience in the courtrooms of Oregon, I know what the judges consider a fair agreement. It is one reached after good faith communication, that has fairness to both parties. I will not sit by silently and watch the parties reach an agreement that is inherently one-sided, that is the result of intimidation or emotional coercion. I will not allow one to brow beat the other, just in the interest of reaching a quick agreement. In a divorce, both parties have important interests that must be considered, but there are many creative ways to preserve those interests. That is where the experienced mediator comes in.
WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING ABOUT MEDIATION?
Mediation reduces the overall stress and heartache of an ended marriage. The two of you will work out your divorce or separation, through the help of the neutral mediator, and not through hired guns costing each of you thousands, or even tens of thousands of dollars.
Mediation is not for everyone. If you refuse to talk to your spouse, if you so despise him or her that you cannot even sit in the same room, if you want "to get even," if you want "your pound of flesh," if you want to fight over who gets the knives and forks and the toaster, no matter what it costs, then mediation is probably not for you. However, if you think what is most important is what is best for your children, or even if you do not have children, you want to end a bad situation as fairly, quickly, and painlessly as possible for a reasonable price, then you should consider mediation.
WHAT DOES MEDIATION COST?
Each divorce, of course, is different; however, in almost every case, a mediated divorce costs only a fraction of what the traditional, contested divorce cost. In the traditional (traditional=two lawyers) divorce, especially when there are children, or when support is an issue, each party will pay their respective lawyer several thousands of dollars before it is all over. Often tens of thousands. The initial retainer for a traditional divorce in the Portland area is often upwards of $3,500.00, for each person. Thats just the amount that you pay up-front. The initial deposit for my mediation service is a fraction of that.
It's your money. You can spend it on two separate lawyers, or you can mediate with an experienced lawyer, and save thousands of dollars.
DISCLAIMER: You need to be aware that my mediation service is not a cut-rate process. If you are looking for a person to just slap together some one-size-fits-all divorce forms, and send you out the door, then I am not for you. You can use any "paralegal" typing service for that, but you must be aware of the consequences. You may create far more future problems than you care to think about. A paralegal is not professionally educated in divorce law, and lacks actual courtroom experience. Neither is a social worker, a clergyman, or a counselor, or some person who simply calls himself or herself a mediator of divorces, but does not have any education or courtroom experience in divorce law.
A social worker, counselor, minister who calls himself a mediator, or non-lawyer mediator may encourage you to reach some kind of feel-good agreement, but then what? How will that person be able to tell you if your agreement is in accordance with the requirements of the courts? You will each have to go to your separate lawyer to have it drafted into the appropriate language that the Oregon courts will accept. (One lawyer is not ethically allowed to represent both sides in a divorce.) In other words, you will be duplicating the process and the cost.
So, if you are looking for neutral and professional guidance through the divorce process, with creative solutions tailored to your actual family situation, by someone who knows what they are doing for over 26 years, then give me a call, or email.
HOW DO YOU CONTACT DIVORCE MEDIATION SERVICE?
Call (503) 652-xxxx. Ask for Lance or leave a voice message. Or email me by simply replying to this posting, or at the following email address: "oregondivorcemediator@gmail.com"
FREE CONSULTATION
My initial telephone consultations are free. Call to discuss the entire process. See if you are a good fit for mediation. Best wishes in these hard times in your life.