This initial meeting is right for you and your husband or wife if:

1. You both want to get a divorce or separation.

It’s natural that one of you may have some reservations about divorcing, but there’s a big difference between being sad the marriage is over but willing to proceed with divorce versus digging your heels in and doing anything you can to try to stop it.

2. You are both ready to start the divorce mediation process.

We suggest you book an initial meeting once you and your spouse are both ready to actually begin the divorce mediation process.

3. You are both willing to consider mediation as a viable option for your divorce.

If you and your spouse are both willing to put aside your differences for the sake of your kids and truly commit to working through the terms of your divorce, book an initial meeting.

But if your spouse is still resentful or blaming you and only agreed to learn more about mediation because you pressured them into it, skip booking an initial meeting and (sadly) hire an attorney instead.

If you and your spouse are on the same page about divorce and are both ready to start the process, our initial meeting is right for you!

Or, if you would like to do some legwork so you can then present this more peaceful divorce option to your spouse, you may book the meeting for yourself only and use it as an informational session.

I'm glad we chose to work with Joe and Cheryl instead of lawyers.

Equitable Mediation Services was definitely a more civilized way to go.

- E.K.

In this 1 hour initial meeting, we'll cover:

• The specifics of your unique situation and begin to identify the critical issues that will need to be resolved in your divorce.
• How our mediation process works, how long it will take to complete and choices you'll have along the way. Enabling you to make informed decisions that are right for you and your family.
• What the steps to divorce are and what we do to guide and support you through them.
• Exactly what your flat-fee mediation will cost and everything included in our services. General cost ranges are shared on our "Why Work With Us" page. 
• Next steps to get you moving forward with clarity and confidence.

Dear Joe, I am writing to thank you for the mediation process that “D” and I went through with you. Getting a divorce is hard enough but I am happy to say I am glad we found you and found out about mediation. It was definitely the way to go for “D” and me.

At first I was unsure of the whole process but after meeting with Cheryl for the initial meeting and having her explain exactly how mediation works and how we go about it, I was relieved to hear how much simpler of a process it is without getting attorneys involved.

You made every meeting very comfortable and you were able to solve every issue that came across our plate, without us fighting or killing each other. You also made sure we covered every base and we didn’t leave out anything.

Thanks for all you did for making a horrible time of our lives a much easier one to get through. I appreciate everything you did!

- L.D.

It was convenient and cost effective to mediate with Equitable Mediation. And the best part was working with Cheryl and Joe.

Their knowledge and expertise was outstanding and their compassion and encouragement was greatly appreciated. They made a stressful, difficult process easy to navigate and manage.

- K.E.

It's critical you choose the right mediator to handle your divorce.

Other than the decision to divorce itself, there is no single more important decision than choosing a divorce mediator qualified to handle your divorce.

And the best divorce mediator isn't necessarily the one who offers a free consultation or has an office closest to your home.

The mediator you choose will play a critical role in:

• How well your divorce goes from both a financial and emotional standpoint;
• How thorough your agreement is;
• How likely you'll need to return to court in the future;
• How fair and equitable your settlement will be.

So if you want to learn how you can make your divorce less expensive, less time-consuming and less stressful for you and your family and get a thorough agreement that's fair to both of you and puts your children first, book this meeting!

Equitable Mediation’s process was very easy and I would go the mediation route again.

It was good working with Cheryl and Joe and we saved a lot of money and conflict by not involving lawyers.

- L.T.