By Joe Costello – Divorce Attorney, Florida Supreme Court Certified Family Mediator, and Founder of Split Simply, Inc.
These are strange times. Nearly all of us are staying home to help prevent the spread of the Coronavirus, the pandemic that has swept the globe with no signs of slowing in the immediate future. Working from home is the new normal for many of us, and for many, this has meant far more time spent with family. This is a good thing, right? Well, not exactly. One of the unfortunate, underreported consequences of all of this good old-fashioned family time is the slow, steady breakdown of marriages all across the world.
Traditionally, and by traditionally, I mean last month, the simple act of “going to work” provided spouses with an hours long break from one another each day. It also provided many of us with an identity. Now, with a virtual quarantine in effect, there is no break in the day, and we are unable to do many of the after hours things that provide us with entertainment and enjoyment, such as going to the beach or going out for dinner. Spouses all across the country are spending literally every waking hour at home with each other and their children, who are also home from school with increasingly less and less to do each day. Couple this with the crippling economic anxiety affecting all but the most wealthy among us, and it is a recipe for conflict, resentment, and inevitably, divorce.
Divorce happens. We all know the numbers. But across the nation, courthouses are closed, which means that access to judges for contested divorce proceedings is either extremely limited or non-existent at this time. Before the Coronavirus pandemic, access to judges and hearing time for contested divorce proceedings was already a problem due to incredibly high case loads and scarce availability of hearing time allotments. On a good day, and in South Florida in particular, a request for one hour of hearing time, just one hour, would result in a hearing date several months down the road, leaving divorce litigants in limbo as they waited for much needed financial or child-related relief. Trying to secure a longer trial date? Good luck. You would be looking at a six to nine month delay, if not longer. Now, in the age of the Coronavirus, litigants can expect to experience even longer wait times for hearing dates.
Fortunately, there is a solution that bypasses not only the immense cost of “lawyering up” for your divorce, which can easily run into the five figure range for even the simplest of divorces, but also eliminates the need to wait around for months and months for your day in court.
At Split Simply, we offer low cost, flat fee divorce mediation services for couples who are ready to move forward with their lives without draining their sanity or their wallets. There are absolutely no hidden costs. We will help you navigate and settle your divorce, no matter how simple or complex, and provide you with all of the legal documents you will need to simply send in to the Clerk of Court to file and finalize your uncontested divorce case. It’s that simple. Better yet, this is not a service offered by a non-lawyer, with no in-court experience or expertise. At Split Simply, you and your spouse will mediate with an experienced Florida divorce attorney and Florida Supreme Court Certified Family Mediator, all from the comfort and safety of your own home. Utilizing the latest videoconference technology and software, at no additional charge, we can mediate your divorce quickly, cost-effectively, and remotely.
We have enough to worry about during this pandemic. A painful, costly, lengthy divorce is the last thing anyone needs. When it’s time to split, Split Simply. Contact us today to schedule your mediation at info@splitsimply.com or visit our website for more information at splitsimply.com.