ABOUT US

I give you control of your divorce.

My mediation experience has taught me that the clients, not the professionals, should be the decision makers….It's your divorce, you'll have to live with it! The parties in a divorce do not want to get "screwed" in the divorce or to have costs run out of control. In mediation you have more control over both the divorce process and the terms of the settlement agreement. As a mediator, I can help you resolve your divorce in a cost-effective, collaborative, problem-solving process. As a veteran mediator, I offer you the flexibility to do your divorce the way you want to, both as to the process of the divorce and the settlement of the ultimate issues concerning children and money. I will mediate your divorce, post-judgment disputes, prenuptial agreements and other family law disputes.

It is crucial to choose your divorce mediator carefully, because the practice of divorce mediation in New Jersey is totally unregulated. Anyone can call himself a divorce mediator, even with no qualifications at all. I am NOT a divorce attorney who does an occasional mediation on the side! With more than 22 years experience as a divorce professional, I started mediating in 1990 and have devoted my practice to divorce mediation since 1994. Divorce law experience, as a judge or attorney, or experience in other professions, is not a substitute for divorce mediation experience!

You will benefit from the fact that I have mediated thousands of divorces of all types, from middle class to multi-million dollar cases. I will offer you a flexible process which empowers you and your spouse to find creative solutions. If you have children, I will help you create an amicable parenting plan, ensuring a better future for you and them. You can count on me to help you settle your own divorce and work out your settlement, yourself rather than having terms dictated by a judge or your attorneys. You'll save money, and emotional trauma.

Our mediation practice is highly diverse socio-economically. In the last year we handled a case involving $35 million of assets and another case involving a municipal garbage collector. We enjoy this diversity, so hourly rates are set on a sliding scale.

You could find a less expensive mediator, but do you want to? Starting your divorce with the wrong mediator may make it the litigated, financially disastrous divorce you wanted to avoid.

Divorce mediation, should be a process which deals with human needs, as well as the legal and financial issues of divorce. Divorce attorneys (and many mediators, especially those who primarily do litigation) believe that only thing that is important in a divorce are the terms of settlement. But often the process utilized is the divorce has at least as big an impact on the parties and those human needs, which include expeditiously completing the divorce so adults and children can go on with their lives and, to the extent possible, preserve their prior lives.

My experience as a mediator allows the two of you the flexibility to fashion a parenting plan and financial arrangements that meet the specific needs of your own family, the people who will have to with the settlement. My job is to help both parties accomplish as much as possible of their own goals and their children's needs. Mediation well done also gives you a model for future communication on parenting and other issues.

My experience as Vice Chair of the Commission to Study the Law of Divorce confirmed what I saw as a matrimonial litigator, judicial clerk and mediator, that the cast majority of divorcing couples don't need the judicial system's adversarial approach, high costs, long time lines and inscrutable rules and procedures. I heard hundreds testify before the Commission to their dissatisfaction with their litigated divorces. The Courts are always available, but, since about 99% of couples settle their divorce, one way or another, the first question is your choice:

litigation, an expensive, time-consuming, difficult to understand process run by the attorneys of preparing for a trial which is 99% certain never to occur, OR mediation, a future-focused, collaborative process based on self-determination and informed consent in which a neutral professional educates, facilitates communication, and helps the parties generate options, so they can resolve their divorce and go on with their lives.

Early in my career as a divorce professional, I realized the hubris of most divorce professionals, seeing themselves as decision makers. It's your divorce, your lives and your right to make the decisions about to how to settle the issues in your divorce. Understanding this is part of what makes me a really good mediator.

Mediation is about treating the parties as adults, helping them take responsibility for their own lives by their making decisions about their own futures.

If you need a family law attorney: to support you while you're in mediation or to represent you in a family law matter in a non-litigious fashion with the focus on expeditious, cost-effective settlement, you should contact Douglas Schoenberg. I will use my knowledge and experience in family law and mediation for you. Whether you need advisory counsel for mediation or an advocate who will guide you through a non-adversarial divorce when your spouse refuses to mediate, I can help you.