Divorce Mediation and Restaining Orders: Is it possible?

As a NJ divorce mediator, friends and family often send me articles on divorce, mediation and the law and today I received an article regarding an area woman who was awarded the sum of $58,000 for abuse she suffered at the hands of her spouse And while no amount of money could ever make up for or excuse the striking of someone PERIOD, it does raise an interesting question: can someone under the terms of a restraining order engage in divorce mediation? By default, wouldn’t the answer be no since the terms of the order would prohibit you from both being in the presence of each other and isn’t that what divorce mediation is all about: Two people sitting in the same room with an Accredited Professional NJ Divorce Mediator like myself working through the terms of their divorce?

Don’t be so quick to dismiss it as the old saying goes: where there’s a will, there’s a way. With today’s technology, we can certainly perform either a telephone mediation, virtual mediation (using Skype) or as a last resort do what we call “shuttle mediation” in which the parties are kept separate and the mediator moves from room to room. Ideally we would live in a world where restraining orders aren’t necessary but alas, this is the reality of the day and so I want to make sure that everyone can realize the benefits of divorce mediation. In my opinion not being able to mediate is just another way for someone to be victimized once again and where’s the fairness in that?