Mediation
Family Law Mediation
Ann Fabrikant mediates divorce, custody, child support and other family matters throughout New Jersey — helping both people reach an agreement they can live with, without a courtroom and without years of legal fees.
Mediation without the courtroom
Mediation isn't court with the volume turned down — it's a different way through. Instead of each of you hiring a lawyer to argue a position, you sit down together with one neutral person whose only job is to help you reach an agreement you can both live with.
Ann doesn't represent either of you. She's there for the agreement, not for a side. What she brings is seventeen years of New Jersey family law, so when you ask what a judge would likely do, you get a straight answer instead of a guess.
What the two of you decide gets written up, and it's binding once it's formalized. What's said along the way stays between you.
What Ann mediates
Most family matters can be mediated, whether or not a case has already been filed.
Child support
What support should be, how it sits against the New Jersey child support guidelines, and how you handle what those guidelines leave out — childcare, medical costs, activities, and college.
Custody and parenting time
Where the children live, how holidays and school breaks are split, and how the two of you make decisions together. Parents who build their own parenting-time schedule tend to be the ones who keep it.
Divorce
Mediating a divorce settles what a judge would otherwise decide for you — property, debt, alimony, and the house. Most couples finish sooner, spend far less, and sign terms they both helped write.
Post-judgment matters
Life keeps moving after the judgment. A job ends, someone needs to relocate, a schedule that suited a six-year-old stops suiting a teenager. Most of it can be reworked without another court fight.
Other family law matters
Most New Jersey family disputes can be mediated when both people are willing to sit down and talk it through. If you are not sure yours fits, one short conversation is usually enough to find out.
Not sure where to start?
Describe what you're dealing with and Ann will tell you plainly whether mediation fits — and if it does, what the process looks like from there.
Book a ConsultationMediation questions, answered
What people ask before they sit down with a mediator in New Jersey.
Do we have to be divorcing to mediate?
No. Mediation works for custody and parenting time, child support, and the questions that come up years after a judgment — whether or not a case has been filed. If it is a family matter and both of you are willing to talk it through, it is worth asking.
Do I still need my own attorney if we mediate?
You are not required to have one, but it is usually wise. Ann is neutral and cannot advise either of you. Many people work through the agreement in mediation and then have their own attorney review it before anyone signs.
What if we only agree on some things?
That is common, and it still helps. You can mediate the issues you are able to settle and leave the rest to the court. It does not have to be all or nothing.
Is what we say in mediation private?
Mediation discussions are confidential under New Jersey law, with narrow exceptions. That confidentiality is part of why people speak more openly in mediation than they do in a courtroom.
Can Ann represent me if mediation does not work out?
No. Having served as the neutral for both of you, she cannot then represent either of you in the same matter. That limit is what makes the neutrality real rather than nominal.
Free consultation
Your consultation is free. Let's talk through how we can help you.
Book a phone or video consultation to speak with Ann — confidential, no obligation, no pressure. Just a conversation about what you're facing and how we can help.
Confidential Consultation · Via Video or Phone