Michigan Divorce Mediation Lawyer

Divorce Mediation Attorney in Michigan, FL

Michigan Divorce Mediation Built Around What Your Family Needs

Ending a marriage does not mean losing control over what happens to your house, your savings, or your time with your kids. You and your spouse can work those decisions out together, at your own pace, instead of leaving them for a stranger to decide. That is what mediation is built for.

Nichols, Sacks, Slank, Sendelbach, Buiteweg & Solomon has worked out of its Ann Arbor and Bloomfield Hills offices for Michigan families across the state. Our divorce mediation attorneys — Karen Sendelbach, Lori Buiteweg, and Elizabeth Solomon — each serve as neutral mediators for couples throughout Michigan.

Working with both of you at the same table instead of representing either side, our attorneys act only as your neutral mediator. Each also serves as a divorce lawyer so they understand what it’s like on both sides of the mediation table.

You and your spouse write the agreement. Your mediator guides the conversation without taking a side. Contact us today to learn more about how a joint mediation session works.

What Michigan Couples Resolve at the Mediation Table?

Divorce mediation covers the same ground a courtroom would, but you and your spouse decide the outcome together with a neutral mediator guiding the conversation, not deciding it for you. Joint sessions at our Ann Arbor and Bloomfield Hills offices typically work through:

• Property and asset division, including the marital home and investment accounts
• Spousal support amount and duration
• Parenting time schedules and major decisions about the kids
• Child support calculations under Michigan’s formula
• Division of retirement accounts and business interests
• Post-divorce modifications when circumstances change

Each mediation session with one of our Michigan divorce attorneys builds toward one document: a settlement you both actually agree to, written in language you understand instead of language a court wrote for you.

Why Michigan Families Choose Mediation Over Circuit Court?

A contested Michigan divorce that lands in court can take a year or more to resolve, and every hearing happens on the court’s schedule, not yours. Under MCR 3.216, Michigan allows spouses to mediate their divorce with a neutral third party instead, working through property, support, and parenting decisions on a timeline you control rather than a docket you do not.

Mediation sessions stay private. Court hearings do not. In our experience, couples who mediate their divorce are also more likely to follow the agreement afterward, because they built it themselves instead of having it handed down by someone who only heard part of the story in a single hearing.

Mediation is not limited to calm divorces – even high-conflict cases can use the mediation process, if appropriate. Sessions are increasingly held by video (Zoom), which lets couples meet from separate locations instead of the same room. Whether mediation is the right fit when there has been domestic conflict depends on the specific situation, and a responsible mediator will screen for safety concerns before moving forward.

Two Michigan Offices Serving Families Across the State

Our Bloomfield Hills office sits at 40900 Woodward Avenue in Oakland County, convenient for clients across the area for work, school, and everything in between. In Ann Arbor, our office is conveniently located to serve clients throughout Washtenaw County.

Our attorneys serve as neutral mediators for couples across Michigan, building a divorce mediation practice around couples who want confidentiality and a neutral guide, not an advocate.

Joint mediation sessions can happen in person at either office or by video, so distance is rarely the reason a Michigan couple puts off getting started. What matters more is finding a session time that works for both of you and a mediator who understands what a Michigan divorce actually involves, from school schedules to the community ties that don’t end when the marriage does.

Michigan Divorce Mediation Questions We Hear Most

What happens during a divorce mediation session in Michigan?

You and your spouse meet with one of our neutral mediators, either in person at our Bloomfield Hills office, Ann Arbor office, or by video. They facilitate productive discussions regarding property, support, and parenting. Sessions typically run for a few hours and continue until you reach an agreement, additional sessions are scheduled, or you decide mediation is not the right fit for your case.

Will our mediator take sides or give either of us legal advice during mediation?

No. As your neutral mediator, your attorney facilitates the conversation and helps you both reach a workable agreement, but does not advise either of you individually or advocate for one spouse’s position over the other. If you want personal legal advice at any point, that comes from your own attorney, not from your mediator.

Do we still have to go to court if we mediate?

Yes, but only briefly. Once you and your spouse reach an agreement, your mediator may draft the settlement document depending on the situation (though they represent neither of you individually), or they may refer you to an attorney who can draft the agreement. One of you will still need to file the agreement with the court so a judge can enter your divorce judgment. You can file it yourselves using the court’s self-help forms, though many people choose to hire an attorney to make sure everything is filed correctly.

What if my spouse and I do not agree on much right now?

That is normal, and it is exactly what mediation is built to work through. As your neutral mediator, your attorney does not take sides. They start with the issues you disagree on most and help you arrive at common ground point by point. Many couples arrive doubtful and leave with a full settlement.

Can we mediate if there was domestic conflict in our marriage?

In some cases, yes. However, Michigan’s Court Rules specifically recognize domestic abuse as a reason a case may be exempted from mediation, so it just depends on your unique situation. Many mediations now happen over video in separate virtual rooms, so you and your spouse never have to be in the same space, and your mediator remains neutral throughout. Whether mediation is appropriate depends on the specifics of your situation, and we will tell you if it is not a good fit.

Do I need my own attorney during mediation?

Because our divorce mediation lawyers in Michigan do not represent either of you, many clients bring their own attorney to a session, or hire an attorney to review the agreement before signing. Never sign a mediated agreement without having your own attorney read it first, no matter how reasonable it looks.

What happens if mediation does not resolve everything?

You do not lose anything by trying. Any issues you settle in mediation are done, and only the remaining disagreements move forward from there. Because your mediator stays neutral, they cannot represent either of you afterward, so this usually means one or both of you working with your own attorney if the case proceeds to court.

Start Your Michigan Mediation With a Plan, Not a Guess

You do not have to file anything or hire a litigator to start exploring mediation. Reach out and tell us where your marriage stands right now, and we will explain how a joint mediation session with one of our attorneys works, since they serve as your neutral mediator rather than either spouse’s advocate. Contact us to schedule a joint consultation at our Ann Arbor or Bloomfield Hills office.