Divorce Mediation is a Low-Cost Way to Divorce in MA

In divorce mediation, you and your spouse are paying for only one professional who charges by the hour – the mediator. The fees you pay for divorce mediation are for the time the mediator spends in mediation sessions with you and your spouse. You also pay for the mediator’s time drafting the “Separation Agreement” that you will take to court to get divorced. How the mediator’s fees are split between you and your spouse is often the first thing that gets mediated.

Divorce litigation typically involves two attorneys both of whom charge hourly. On a per hour basis, divorce litigation costs approximately twice as much as divorce mediation. This is because each spouse pays for attorney meeting time, court waiting time, motion and document drafting time, financial discovery and document production time, time for the attorney to drive to and from court, a paralegal’s time, etc.

The truth is that the more each spouse pays for the divorce, the less money and other assets are left after the divorce for each of you. It just makes sense to pay the least amount possible to get divorced. That is why mediation is the smart way to divorce.

What We Charge

We charge $270 per hour. There is no lump-sum up-front payment for mediation sessions like the “retainer” divorce lawyers charge. Instead, you pay for every mediation session at the end of that session. So, for example, if your mediation session took one hour and thirty minutes, your charge would be $405. This amount is paid at the end of the session.

After you and your spouse reach agreement on all issues, the mediator will draft a Separation Agreement. Typically, this agreement takes the mediator two to six hours to draft depending upon how complicated the agreement is. The mediator may ask you to pay upfront for at least two hours of time before starting this work. You pay for the balance of the separation agreement fee at the next mediation session.

We accept payment by cash, check or credit card.