San Jose Family Law Mediator
Santa Clara Divorce Mediation Attorney
California divorce proceedings can be emotional, stressful, expensive and time-consuming. Fighting in court over custody and visitation, child support, alimony, and property division can destroy relationships and scar your children. If both parties are willing, mediation offers a simpler, quicker, less expensive, and more amicable alternative to trial.
At the Law Offices of Sandra J. McManus, attorney Sandra McManus is available to mediate agreements between divorcing spouses. Couples who agree to mediation can often resolve issues more quickly and at a lower cost than couples who decide to litigate every issue.
Important Notes about Mediation
To successfully complete divorce mediation, both parties must be willing. If your intention is to have Ms. McManus mediate your case, both parties must come in for mediation at the same time to avoid a conflict of interest. If one party comes in and gets advice on his or her case, we cannot help you with mediation. By only meeting with the parties together, Ms. McManus is able to remain unbiased and neutral during mediation and better serve our clients.
If clients come into the mediation process with an idea of what they want, we can often work through every issue, including child and spousal support, child custody and visitation,and asset and property division. Our firm can help you come to an agreement without engaging in costly, stressful and public divorce court proceedings.
Our Mediation Services
If clients come prepared to the first consultation, which is offered for a reasonable fee, Ms. McManus can draw up the divorce papers to start the process immediately. There will be a need for a few follow-up appointments to complete the rest of the paperwork and draft a Marital Settlement Agreement, which can include agreements on custody, child support, or other issues.
California law changes constantly, which affects all aspects of a divorce. San Jose lawyer and mediator Sandra J. McManus regularly attends mediation and family law classes to keep up-to-date on recent changes in the law to better serve our clients. Ms. McManus’ skill in mediation has resulted in awards for Family Law Attorney/Mediator of the Year on multiple occasions.
Private Judge Services
Ms. McManus has many years of experience as a Judge Pro Tem in Santa Clara County Court deciding divorce and family law issues. However, most family law disputes are best settled out of court. Some parties agree to keep their case out of court and decide to hire a Private Judge to litigate their matter. The benefit of this service is your are not usually limited to 30 minutes to present your case and you can have your matter heard fairly quickly versus having to wait 4-5 months to have a trial before the All Purpose Judge at court. Ms. McManus can serve as a Private Judge in your matter if both parties agree. A retainer fee will be quoted at the time of the appointment.