I'm not one to follow the lives of movie stars and famous people ... but when I saw a picture of Gwyneth Paltrow with an online article entitled "Is 'Conscious Uncoupling' a Better Way to Divorce?", the mediator in my just had to click and read.

So, I find out that Gwyneth and her husband of 10 years are using this fancy process and trying to end their marriage in a "child friendly" way without a contentious divorce.

I thought to myself, and what about all those couples who have benefited from divorce mediation over the past 20 years? They just aren't as trendy.

Mediation not only helps couples to unwind their financial life together but also assists them in developing parenting plans to benefit their children and the new separate family structure.

But mediation can also go a step or two beyond.

I have worked with divorcing couples who understand the importance of their long-lasting relationship as parents to their child(ren) and have developed new ways to interact to minimize the stress and tension for their kids. They have defined ways to co-parent that allow for the sharing of events and memorable moments in their child(ren)'s lives. They have let go of the past and found a path to move on to the future.

Mediation may not be as fancy a term, but it's proven to work.

Jeanette