New Jersey Divorce Mediation Lawyer

Peaceful Divorce Mediation for Saved Time & Money

What Settling Out of Court Actually Involves

Most New Jersey divorces settle. The only real question is how much you spend and how long you wait before they do. Divorce mediation gets you there sooner, with equitable distribution, alimony, and your parenting schedule worked out across a table in South Jersey instead of decided by a Camden or Burlington County judge who has never met your family.

Talk to us for free about whether mediation fits your situation.

What Our Clients Say About Our Services

A friend recommended Graziano & Flynn for my divorce settlement, and I couldn’t be more grateful. I had the pleasure of working with Robyn and her entire team, and I always felt confident in their hands. Robyn was incredibly supportive and readily available whenever I needed assistance.

Kristin S.

    EXCELLENT  
  24 reviews

How Divorce Mediation Works Under New Jersey Court Rules

New Jersey does not offer mediation as an alternative to the court process. It builds it in, at two separate points, governed by two separate rules.

Economic Mediation After the Early Settlement Panel

Contested financial issues go first to a Matrimonial Early Settlement Panel, where volunteer matrimonial attorneys review both sides and issue a non-binding recommendation. Anything left unresolved is referred to economic mediation under Rule 5:5-6.

Choosing the Mediator

The parties pick one together, from the Judiciary's approved roster or any individual they both accept, and the judge appoints one if they cannot agree. The court then enters an Economic Mediation Referral Order naming the mediator, listing the documents to be exchanged, allocating cost, and setting the return date.

The First Two Hours

They cost the parties nothing, split as one hour of mediator preparation and one hour of session time, with travel excluded. After that, continuing is voluntary and the mediator charges a customary rate, shared equally unless the referral order says otherwise.

Custody and Parenting Time

These run on a separate track under Rule 1:40-5, screened to confirm the dispute is genuine and substantial, then referred through the Family Division rather than the economic mediation program. No matter is referred while a restraining order is in effect under the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act.

Mediating Before a Complaint Is Filed

Couples who start early skip the panel, the referral order, and the court's timeline entirely, though the disclosure standard does not change. Some stop at a mediated separation agreement and never file.

What the Process Produces

Sessions end in a Memorandum of Understanding, converted into a Marital Settlement Agreement and incorporated into the Final Judgment of Divorce at a short uncontested hearing. The mediator decides nothing and cannot later be called as a witness, and communications are protected under Rule 1:40-4 and New Jersey's Uniform Mediation Act.

What You Are Actually Deciding

Equitable distribution. New Jersey divides marital property equitably, which is not the same as down the middle. That gap is where mediation earns its keep, because a couple can trade a shore place in Cape May County against a pension in ways a judge working from the statutory factors would not.
Retirement assets. Pensions, 401(k)s, and deferred compensation often outweigh the house, and dividing retirement accounts takes a court order separate from your settlement agreement.
Alimony. New Jersey recognizes open durational, limited duration, rehabilitative, and reimbursement alimony. Amount and term are both negotiable in a way they stop being once a judge is deciding.
Child support. The child support guidelines set a baseline, but who covers activities, unreimbursed medical costs, and college is left largely to you.
Custody and parenting time. Parents build the schedule around their own work and their kids’ lives, whether that means splitting weeks between Moorestown and a new apartment or coordinating around a shift schedule. Judges build it around a template.

What Mediation Actually Saves You

Money. You are paying one professional instead of two, and most couples split the cost. Against that, weigh two retainers, two sets of discovery, and motion practice that can run past a year.

Time. A mediated agreement can be signed while a contested case out of Marlton or Voorhees is still waiting on its next case management conference.

Agreements that hold. People follow terms they helped write. That means fewer enforcement motions and less post-judgment modification work down the road, which is where a cheap divorce often turns expensive.

When Mediation Is the Wrong Choice

Mediation depends on both spouses negotiating freely and disclosing honestly. It fails when one is hiding assets, or when one has spent the marriage making the other’s decisions.

New Jersey draws a hard line here: no matter is referred to mediation while a restraining order is in effect under the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act. If that describes your situation, mediation is not your next step and we will say so in the first conversation.

Mediators Who Know What Happens If Mediation Fails

Mediation works because both spouses understand what a judge would likely order if they walk away from it. That reality check only carries weight coming from someone who has stood in front of those judges. Our attorneys have spent decades trying family cases in the Camden and Burlington County courthouses, and that is what we bring into the room.

We work in two roles, depending on what your situation calls for:

As your neutral mediator, when you and your spouse want one professional guiding you both toward an agreement.
As your own counsel during mediation, when your spouse has already selected a mediator and you want someone protecting your position before you sign anything.

What comes with either role:

Financial depth when the numbers are contested. We bring in forensic accountants, business valuation experts when one spouse owns the company, and lifestyle analysts when a contested standard of living is on the table.
A straight answer on whether to mediate at all. Mediation collapses when one spouse is concealing assets or controlling the other. We will tell you that before you spend money finding out.

One of the largest family law teams in South Jersey, handling divorces out of Maple Shade since 2003, across Camden, Burlington, and Gloucester counties.

The Attorneys Who Will Be in the Room

Mediation puts one person’s judgment between you and a settlement you live with for years. It matters who that person is.

Ron Graziano

Ron has practiced New Jersey family law since 1974 and spent over 25 years as a certified trial attorney, arguing a case before the state Supreme Court. He also served as Mayor of Mount Laurel Township, so his roots here run past the courthouse steps.

Robyn B. Flynn

Robyn clerked in the Camden County Family Division before building a 30-year practice, and she has been through her own divorce. She reads a settlement proposal as a lawyer and as someone who has signed one.

Questions South Jersey Couples Ask Us

It complicates the math, not the mediation. Cross-river employment brings in the Philadelphia wage tax and reciprocity issues that change what income actually looks like for guidelines purposes. Getting it right up front prevents a modification fight later.

Yes, and it is one of the more common sticking points we see. Rental income, carrying costs, and who actually wants to keep it usually matter more than the appraisal.

No. After the Early Settlement Panel you can select anyone you both agree on. The roster is a convenience, not a requirement.

Substantially. Family dockets across Camden, Burlington, and Gloucester counties are full, and a contested case can sit for months between events while both sides keep billing.

Then you settle the rest and put the one issue in front of a judge. Partial agreements are common, and they narrow what you are paying to litigate.

We Proudly Serve All of South Jersey

End This Without Losing Two Years to It

Most divorces settle eventually, whether they start in Cherry Hill or anywhere else in Camden County. The only real question is how much you spend and how much damage you take getting there. If you and your spouse can still be in the same room, mediation is worth a conversation before you commit to anything else.

Call 856-422-2010 or toll-free 877-938-1963. The consultation is free and we will tell you honestly if mediation is a bad fit for your situation.