WHY CHOOSE US TO SERVE YOU?

We are committed to caring for you and others to maximize the process and bring about results and a resolution to your concern in a professional, confidential and practical manner.

We are aware this is and may be a very difficult and tumultuous time for you and your family and with our experience and background we pay close attention to the details to serve you and your situation with the greatest of respect, care and concern.

“Discourage litigation. Persuade your neighbors to compromise whenever you can. Point out to them how the nominal winner is often the real loser — in fees, and expenses, and waste of time. As a peace-maker, the lawyer has a superior opportunity of being a good man. There will still be business enough.”

-Abraham Lincoln

  • Mediation is an excellent approach to solving family conflicts. Mediation is quicker, cheaper and more satisfying than litigation. Mediation with Dr. Stubbs will facilitate resolution to your disputes with the highest levels of professionalism and experience.

  • Mediation becomes advisable when one of the parties involved in the dispute acknowledges that they need the help of a neutral party to resolve the matter and initiates the contact with the mediator. In some cases, where official litigation is pending, the court usually offers or orders the worrying parties to mediation.
    Types of Issues to Address:

    Parenting Plan
    Time sharing and Visitation
    Child Support and Arrears
    Custody and Primary Parent
    Modification of child support and/or visitation
    Holidays and Summer schedule
    Communication
    Alimony and Spousal Support
    Property Distribution
    Marital Home and Equitable share
    Marital Debts
    Distribution of 401K and Retirement Accounts
    FRS Distribution
    TSP Distribution and Military Retirement
    Surviving Spouse Benefit
    Equitable Distribution
    Partition
    Temporary Parenting Plan
    Separation Agreement
    Alimony Calculation
    Duration Alimony
    Permanent Alimony
    Short term Marriage
    Disability and Social Security Benefits in Divorce

  • Do I Need A Lawyer?

    Stubbs Mediation works with lawyers and their clients, as well as people who do not have counsel for their matter. People are encouraged to consult with a lawyer, either before the mediation to be prepared for the issues that will be discussed, or after the mediation when they have a copy of the unsigned agreement to review. The court allows unrepresented people to go through the divorce process and it is not necessary to hire a lawyer if the person is satisfied that he/she is comfortable with the agreement that is reached.

    A lawyer is recommended if one party does not trust the other party to be honest in representing their finances. A lawyer can require the other party to submit accurate statements for bank accounts, retirement accounts and other assets, if these are not forthcoming otherwise.


    Advance Preparation for the Mediation

    Prior to attending mediation, the participants should review and be prepared to discuss:

    1) Sample Parenting Plan (found on the internet) and the provisions that are part of it

    2) Completed Financial Affidavits (one for each person – does not need to be notarized)
    3) Review all bank statements, Retirement accounts, Investment accounts and bring statements if there are questions
    3)Pay stubs and be ready to determine exact income if both parties are not in agreement
    4) Fair Market Value of House (CMA or appraisal), and current mortgage balance, if house is to be sold or one person will be buying out the interest of the other in the house

    5) Current value and amount of loans on vehicles. Balances on debts

    Mediation is NOT Recommended when:
    One person is afraid of the other person. There is a restraining order in place for no contact between the parties, unless both parties are represented by counsel and counsel is present

    One person does not feel that negotiations would be on equal footing: One person might not be able to express themselves honestly or negotiate freely with the other person.

SUPERVISED VISITATION

Our team will observe parent-child visits and provide a safe supportive environment for children and parents engaging in physical and emotional harm by enforcing expectations rules and safety measures. While basic supervised visitation is often focused only on preventing harm, our services are often more facilitative in their interventions in an effort to create opportunities for change.

THERAPEUTIC VISITATION

This type of supervised visitation employs therapeutic and educational interventions in order to support the development of healthier parent-child relationships. Please note, therapeutic supervised visitation is only to be provided by a trained professional.

CO-PARENTING COUNSELING

This specialized form of counseling is perfect for assisting co-parents learn to improve communication and reduce conflict for the best interest of their child(ren).

Scientific Research Says Parental Conflict Causes Long Term Developmental & Psychological Harm to Children

This specialized form of counseling is perfect for assisting co-parents learn to improve communication and reduce conflict for the best interest of their child(ren). Scientific research in the area of divorce and child custody have consistently found that conflict between parents causes long-term developmental and psychological harm to children, thus it is critically important that parents learn to establish a relationship together that is at least neutral in emotional intensity to ensure their child(ren) do not suffer.

70% to 90% of Human Communication is Non-Verbal

Parents will often say, “Well, I never say anything bad about the other parent,” or “I never talk about the other parent while in front of the child,” however what many parents do not realize or appreciate is that anywhere between 70% to 90% of human communication is non-verbal. That means children will be able to understand and recognize their parents’ conflict, dislike for the other, and overall negative feelings and tension without speaking a word.

A Toolbox of New Skills

Part of co-parent counseling and conflict resolution is to learn new ways to communicate and parent together. SFS’ practitioners will provide each parent with a toolbox of new skills and ways in which to re-frame their relationship with the other parent and turn their primary focus on the well-being and care of their child(ren) that they share in common. It has been Dr. Stubbs experience that parents are typically not malicious, but instead lack proper co-parent education and understanding of its importance and significance in their children’s lives.

Collaboration and Cooperation with Other Professionals are Key

Dr. Stubbs promotes collaboration between all involved in these cases to include individual therapists, guardian ad litems (GALs), attorneys, and the courts to ensure the best and most impactful results to benefit the child(ren) set in between two people that they love.