Surprise Divorce Mediation

A Five-Step Mediation Approach Designed for You Our process for resolving divorce and separation disputes in Surprise, Arizona, is aimed at being both effective and compassionate, significantly reducing the financial and emotional toll.

1. Complimentary Initial Consultation Start your mediation journey with us through a no-cost consultation that addresses your concerns, provides a detailed estimate of time and costs, and illustrates the benefits of our mediation approach over traditional court proceedings. This initial step is crucial for setting a foundation for a more collaborative and cost-effective resolution.

2. Initiating the Mediation Process This stage introduces you to our efficient mediation guidelines and protocols, emphasizing mutual respect, full transparency in information and document sharing, the best interests of any children involved, and the pursuit of a fair resolution for all matters.

3. In-depth Understanding of Your Situation Here, your mediator delves into the specifics of your situation, including discussing your primary concerns, desired outcomes, educational and professional backgrounds, financial situations, health statuses, and any other relevant factors. Both parties are encouraged to provide all necessary information and documents, enabling a fair, cost-effective, and empathetic resolution.

4. The Mediation Dialogue This phase offers a supportive environment for you and your partner to work with our mediator on resolving all pertinent issues, such as asset division, debt allocation, and arrangements for minor children, child support, and spousal maintenance. Depending on the complexity of the case and whether minor children are involved, sessions can last between 4 to 8 hours. Our mediators, with their vast experience in law, psychology, and mediation, facilitate effective communication, explore different resolution options, and provide essential legal, financial, and tax information, aiding in well-informed decision-making.

5. Finalizing the Settlement Agreement The conclusion of the mediation process is the formalization of all decisions into a legally-binding settlement agreement. We carefully prepare all court documents, ensuring that court appearances are unnecessary. Our comprehensive approach to settlement agreements and court documentation aims to leave no detail unaddressed, securing court approval and allowing you to maintain control over the resolution process, thereby eliminating the dependency on attorneys or the court for decisions.

Divorce Mediation in Surprise, Arizona

Out-of-Court Solutions has been providing unparalleled divorce mediation assistance to Surprise since 1995. As the leading mediation firm in Arizona, our mediators use their experience in law, business and psychology to guide legally separating and divorcing couples through the discussion and negotiations that lead to a legally binding settlement. Our Surprise mediators will help each person understand the situation and all of the legal, financial and parenting complexities involved while fostering an atmosphere of mutual respect to ensure that everyone’s feelings, concerns and ultimate goals are heard.

About Divorce Mediation

Out-of-Court Solutions in Surprise uses a highly effective form of mediation that will help ensure that you and your spouse are on the same page at all times. Our mediators will inform you and your spouse of the rules and procedures of mediation and help clarify what each of you hopes to achieve through mediation. Out-of-Court Solutions in Surprise will help create an atmosphere where each of you has an opportunity to speak, without interruption, about the situation as you see it. Once each of you has had an opportunity to speak and be heard and everyone is on the same page, our mediators will work to help you achieve a mutually acceptable resolution. Because we help you achieve a resolution during mediation, you avoid ever having to go to court. Out-of-Court Solutions in Surprise will help you reach a settlement agreement and prepare appropriate court documents. By avoiding court and costly legal expenses, we help you save time, money, and frustration. In fact, our Surprise mediators have helped over 95% of clients resolve issues quickly, inexpensively and with minimum stress or strain.

There are occasions when almost everything is already agreed upon you still need assistance with the details of legal separation or divorce. Out-of-Court Solutions in Surprise offers document preparation services for just these occasions. The precise details of legal separation and divorce can raise many questions and concerns and our Surprise office will answer those questions and address concerns so that everyone is on the same page and all documents are in order. Out-of-Court Solutions in Surprise will prepare all of your legal documents and ensure that they are in completely in order on your behalf. Our Surprise office will also address all necessary settlement items such as legal details, financial details, and the particulars for care of any minor children. Our document preparation services at Out-of-Court Solutions in Surprise will ensure that all documents are properly prepared and in order so that you can quickly, easily and inexpensively legally separate or divorce in Arizona.

Legal Separation

Legal separation ends community property rights and obligations but preserves the marital relationship. For example, when legally separated, each spouse’s income is his or her sole and separate property, and one spouse can no longer obligate the other for any debt he or she incurs. Divorce, on the other hand, (whether in Arizona or in any other state) ends the marital relationship as well as community property rights and obligations.

Mediation of legal separation occurs in the same way and typically involves the same issues as divorce mediation. Couples work together with a professional mediator to reach agreements concerning division of assets (such as real estate, investment accounts, and retirement benefits), allocation of debts, child and/or spousal support, and parenting arrangements for minor children.

Stop Litigating, Start Mediating

It’s never too late to stop the increased hostility and substantial cost of litigating with adversarial lawyers. With his 20+ years as a professional divorce mediator and backgrounds in law and psychology, regardless of the status of your court case there is a 95% probability that our Mediator will help you completely resolve your matter quickly and expensively.

We offer a free consultation where we answer your questions, detail how our mediation process works and give you a written time and cost estimate.

Change Child Support Amount

We make it easy to change a previously ordered child support amount through our flat-fee Child Support Modification program.

• Step One: You complete our Information Form and Fee Agreement.
• Step Two: We email our easy to use Questionnaire for you and your ex-spouse to complete and return to us.
• Step Three: We prepare all required Court Documents.

Optional Mediation: If there are any disagreements between you and your ex-spouse, our Mediator facilitates settlement of them on a pro-rated hourly fee basis.

Change Custody, Child Support, Time-Sharing, and/or All Other Child-Related Matters

We make it easy to change child support, custody, time-sharing, and/or any other minor child-related matters.

• Step One: You complete our Information Form and Fee Agreement.
• Step Two: We email our easy to use Questionnaire for you and your ex-spouse to complete and return to us.
• Step Three: We prepare all required Court Documents.

Optional Mediation: If there are any disagreements between you and your ex-spouse, our Mediator facilitates settlement of them on a pro-rated hourly fee basis.

Coparenting Flat Fee Program

We make it easy for unmarried parents to resolve all custody, child support and other child-related Coparenting matters quickly and inexpensively.

• Step 1: After you complete our Intake Form and Fee Agreement, we prepare and email you and your co-parent the court documents required to begin to establish parental rights and responsibilities.
• Step Two: We email you and your co-parent our easy to use Questionnaire that you and your co-parent can complete either together or separately, and then email back to us.
• Step Three: We prepare a legally binding comprehensive Coparenting Agreement plus all required final court documents.

Oliver Ross, JD*, PhD

Kimberlee Handy, Esquire

Kimberlee Handy utilizes her backgrounds in law, psychology, and family development to help divorcing or legally separating clients mediate their differences and reach their goals quickly, caringly, and inexpensively. Kimberlee’s years of experience in mediation greatly enhances a mediating couple’s ability to effectively and efficiently divide property, allocate debts, develop a parenting plan for any minor children, and devise appropriate support amounts.

Kimberlee is dedicated to providing mediating couples with personalized and professional problem-solving options and alternatives. She will do everything possible to make clients feel valued and respected while keeping them on track towards their goals.

Kimberlee is also “Of Counsel” to Out of Court Solutions. She is responsible for keeping all of Out of Court Solutions’ mediators and staff up to date on family law and ethical matters.

Ms. Handy is a member of the State Bar of Arizona, the Maricopa County Bar Association, the Maricopa County Association of Family Mediators – Ethical Chair, and the Central Arizona Estate Planning Council. She received her Juris Doctor degree from Arizona Summit Law School (formerly Phoenix School of Law), and her Bachelor of Arts degree, cum laude, in Psychology with a Minor in Family and Human Development from Arizona State University.