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270 West 17th Street, Suite 6I
New York,
New York
10011
Phone: 212-462-4050
Fax: 212-944-1497
(By Appointment Only)
Westchester,
New York
10538
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Family Mediation Services
Prenuptial Mediation
Couples entering into marriage may find themselves seeking to protect assets and to prevent future protracted litigation. Whether a first time marriage or one later in life, prenuptial agreements offer an attractive way to secure earnings and inherited wealth and to ensure the distribution of one’s estate. Likewise, the prenuptial agreement may provide the non-monied spouse a stable standard of living, should the parties divorce. Regardless of the motivation, these agreements often become a source of premarital stress, as couples are negotiating a financial contract while they would prefer to be immersed in the joys of wedding plans.
There are two ways we can help you:
The first is for you and your future spouse to participate in prenuptial mediation — to come together and negotiate the terms of your agreement directly, with our assistance as neutral mediators. We will ensure that you both understand the financial impact of the choices you face. Prenuptial mediation provides each of you an opportunity to communicate directly about your financial concerns, needs, and expectations as you enter into marriage. The results of this process are meant to yield an agreement that you both feel reflects your sense of fairness. In our role as your mediators, we will also advise you as to legal requirements, ensuring future enforceability of your agreement.
The second way we can assist you is to negotiate on your behalf, not as mediators, but as advocates. We will explain the role of the law and the financial implications of your decisions. We can also draft the prenuptial agreement for you, or review one drafted by your future spouse’s attorney. While providing you advice and counsel, we are sensitive to the dynamics of conducting a financial negotiation on the eve of marriage.
Family And Divorce Mediation
The Good Divorce
By choosing the mediation process and looking for “the good divorce,” you are taking control of the decisions you must make in order to obtain a divorce. Nevertheless, negotiating with an estranged spouse is often painful. As your neutral mediators, it is our job to guide you through the necessary decisions with respect to parenting and finances, all the while respecting your autonomy to make your own best choices. We strive along the way to give you the opportunity to be heard and understood, and to listen to and understand the other party, as well. This provides a foundation for compromise and choices that should make sense to both of you as you contemplate your new lives after the divorce.
For divorcing parents, mediation is a chance to design schedules and parenting roles and responsibilities that reflect your unique family. Additionally, as we help you to bring understanding to this aspect of the negotiations, you may preserve a measure of your relationship, or begin a new manner of communication as cooperative parents.
Non-Traditional Families
The understanding-based model of mediation applies equally to unmarried couples and same-sex couples who find themselves separating. We bring the same level of sensitivity and financial and parenting expertise to these negotiations.
Post-Divorce Mediation
Often, the residue of protracted litigation continues to cause conflict, long after you are legally divorced. In addition, even after extended periods of calm, circumstances may change and conflict can arise anew. In both of these situations, families can mediate a range of issues, such as a new child support award, the sale of a house, revised parenting arrangements, introduction of step-families, and relocation, among others. We will assist both of you in exploring your viewpoints as well as your options for settling any renewed conflicts.
Uncontested Divorce
For couples who have settled the terms of their divorce and are seeking assistance completing what can be a daunting legal process, we are available to prepare and file uncontested divorce documents.
About Us -- Family Mediation LLP
Abby Wittlin Tolchinsky
Abby began her career in 1991 as a litigation associate at the law firm Cravath, Swaine and Moore. In April 2004, Abby received her mediation training through the Center for Mediation in Law. She is a member of the Family and Divorce Mediation Council of Greater New York and the New York State Council on Divorce Mediation, and is a certified mediator in the New York City Family Courts. She facilitates mediation trainings for the Center for Mediation in Law as well as at the Ackerman Institute for the Family. Additionally, Abby is a mediation columnist at the New York Law Journal. She received her B.A. from Barnard College of Columbia University and her J.D. from the New York University School of Law.
Ellie Wertheim
Ellie began her legal career advocating on behalf of children at the Juvenile Rights Division of the Legal Aid Society. Subsequently, she represented indigent clients in family law cases at the New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG). In 2004, Ellie received her mediation training at the Queens Mediation Network and completed the divorce mediation practicum at the Ackerman Institute for the Family. Ellie is a member of the Family and Divorce Mediation Council of Greater New York and the New York State Council on Divorce Mediation, and is a certified mediator in the New York City Courts. She is a regular contributor to the New York Law Journal column on mediation. Ellie received her B.A. from Northwestern University and her law degree from the University of Pennsylvania.
Please email us or visit our website for additional information.
