Resolve your divorce on your own terms with mediation and divorce coaching built for Paradise Valley families, complex assets, privacy concerns, and high-stakes parenting decisions.
Book a $100 ConsultationMost people going through a divorce in Paradise Valley do not want to go to court. They want to resolve things. They want certainty. They want their financial life and their family's future settled without handing those decisions to a judge who has never met them and has minutes to absorb the complexity of what they have built over decades.
Mediation and divorce coaching exist precisely for this. They are two of the most effective tools for reaching a resolution on your own terms rather than waiting for a courtroom to impose one.
At Best Law Firm, we have provided divorce mediation and legal divorce coaching to Paradise Valley families for 19 years. This page explains how each option works, how they differ from each other, and how to know which one fits where you are right now.
Mediation is available at every stage of the divorce process: before you file, after you file, during active litigation, and even on the courthouse steps the morning of trial. In Arizona, virtually every litigated case goes through mediation at some point, but you do not have to wait for the court to require it.
Both spouses come to Best Law Firm without legal representation and we serve as the neutral third-party mediator. We explain what Arizona law says, what a court would likely do, and help you work through every disputed item.
Both spouses retain their own attorneys and Best Law Firm serves as the neutral mediator running the process. Your attorneys advocate for you while we manage the process and help bridge the gap between adversarial positions.
Filing a divorce does not close the door to mediation. Resolving even some issues saves time, saves money, narrows the dispute, and gives both parties more control than trial.
If Best Law Firm represents you and your case is heading to mediation with an outside mediator, we prepare you, attend with you, advocate for you, and advise you before you sign anything.
Sometimes two attorneys negotiate settlement directly without a formal mediation session. We negotiate on your behalf, trade proposals with the other side, and draft the final paperwork once terms are reached.
The one rule that never changes: Best Law Firm cannot mediate and represent one party in the same case. When we are neutral, we are neutral for both. When we are your attorney, we are there to advocate for you. The $100 consultation helps you figure out which configuration fits your situation before anyone commits to anything.
Mediation is a process where both spouses work with a neutral third party to resolve the issues in their divorce. The mediator does not decide anything. The mediator helps both parties find common ground, reality-checks expectations against what Arizona courts actually do, generates options neither party may have considered, and builds an agreement both spouses understand and have genuinely chosen.
In a Paradise Valley case, that typically means working through some combination of business valuation, complex asset division, investment portfolio analysis, retirement account structures, real estate in multiple locations, spousal maintenance for long marriages, and parenting arrangements for children in private schools with travel and demanding extracurricular schedules.
At Best Law Firm, mediation sessions are run by certified attorney mediators. Tali Best Collins, Esq., Cynthia L. Best, Esq., and Megan Spaulding, Esq. have been part of more than 5,000 mediations. We know what Maricopa County courts are doing right now, what a realistic outcome looks like, and how to build agreements that hold up when real life happens after the decree is signed.
You come to our Scottsdale office. In most cases, you and your spouse are not in the same room. The mediator works between the rooms, carries proposals, checks expectations against reality, and documents every resolved issue before anyone leaves.
Paradise Valley divorces often involve privacy concerns, complex assets, long marriages, business interests, and parenting plans that need more creativity than a courtroom can usually provide. Mediation gives families a more controlled way to solve those problems.
Arizona court filings are public records. When a case resolves through mediation, detailed financial disclosures, business valuations, income information, and parenting arguments do not have to become part of a public trial record.
A judge cannot be creative. Mediation can build a refinancing window, business buyout, or parenting plan that fits the actual family instead of forcing the family into a narrow court order.
A fully contested high net worth divorce can cost $100,000 or more per side. Mediation is billed at $350 to $450 per hour with a three-hour minimum, typically split equally between both parties.
A contested divorce in Maricopa County can take 18 months to three years or more. A mediated divorce can be resolved in months. Arizona's 60-day waiting period cannot be waived, but everything beyond that is within the parties' control.
Mediation is not the right answer for every situation. Cases involving domestic violence, active safety concerns, hidden assets, or a high conflict personality driven by revenge rather than resolution can make standard mediation very difficult or counterproductive.
In high conflict cases where mediation is still worth attempting, we keep the parties in entirely separate rooms throughout the process. There is no joint session. The mediator manages all communication and neither spouse has to be in the same space as the other at any point.
Even when a full settlement is not reached, mediation almost always has value. Narrowing the disputed issues before trial saves significant time and money in court. A session that does not resolve everything still moves the case forward.
For difficult dynamics, structure matters. Separate-room mediation can make negotiation possible in situations that would otherwise move straight toward full litigation.
Divorce coaching is different from mediation in one fundamental way. When I am your mediator, I am neutral. When I am your divorce coach, I am on your side.
Coaching gives you access to a licensed Arizona family law attorney by the hour without a retainer. You bring whatever is most pressing: a settlement offer, a parenting plan, a court date, a financial decision, or a question about what Arizona law actually says about your situation.
For the sophisticated Paradise Valley client who understands their financial situation but needs a trusted legal perspective before making a major decision, coaching is often exactly the right level of engagement. Not every situation requires a full retainer from day one.
Learn more about what a divorce coach does. Coaching lets you access serious legal expertise at the moments when you actually need it.
Some clients use coaching before they file. Others use it before mediation, after a settlement offer arrives, or during post-decree issues. The work is flexible and focused on the decision in front of you.
Understand what to fight for, what is not worth the fight, and what your realistic range looks like before you sit down at the table.
Tali can attend mediation with you as your advocate and advise you before you sign anything. You are never alone in the room.
A coaching session gives you the legal analysis you need to decide whether an offer is reasonable or whether you are leaving something significant on the table.
Coaching can help you understand community property, separate property, retirement division, tax tradeoffs, business income, and other financial details before they become disputes.
Organized clients with a reasonably cooperative spouse may use coaching at key decision points while managing much of the process themselves.
Some clients simply want to understand the landscape and law of divorce before making any decisions. Coaching gives them that big-picture clarity.
Every case starts with a focused consultation so you can choose the right role for the firm before you commit to anything larger.
Tali listens to your situation, identifies the legal issues, and helps you understand whether mediation, coaching, direct negotiation, or representation is the right starting point.
If Best Law Firm is neutral, we mediate for both parties. If we are your attorney or coach, we advocate for you. The role must be clear from the start.
We prepare, negotiate, document resolved issues, and help you make decisions with a realistic understanding of Arizona law and Maricopa County court expectations.
Yes, and in most cases it is the better option. Business valuation disputes are expensive to litigate, damaging to the business, and time consuming for everyone involved. A mediator who is also an experienced family law attorney understands valuation methodology, knows what Maricopa County judges have done with similar disputes, and can help both parties build a buyout structure that keeps the business alive and compensates the non-owner spouse fairly.
Yes, but it depends on the nature and severity of the difficulty. High conflict personalities, untreated mental illness, domestic violence, and coercive control dynamics can make standard mediation very difficult. In those situations we keep the parties in entirely separate rooms and the mediator manages all communication between them.
When Best Law Firm mediates your divorce, we are neutral. We work with both you and your spouse and do not advocate for either side. When Best Law Firm serves as your divorce coach, we are your advocate and attorney. We cannot do both in the same case.
Yes. When Tali is your divorce coach, she can attend mediation with you as your advocate attorney and advise you before you sign anything. This is one of the most valuable uses of coaching for Paradise Valley clients who want to mediate but also want someone specifically in their corner.
Yes. Mediation is available before filing, after filing, and at every stage in between. Some couples mediate a full agreement before either spouse files and then incorporate those agreements into the Summary Consent Decree process.
It depends entirely on your situation. Some clients come for one session, get what they need, and handle the rest on their own. Others work with Tali at key decision points throughout their case. Coaching is flexible, with no retainer and no minimum commitment beyond the one-hour minimum per session.
Yes. Mediation communications are confidential under Arizona law and cannot be used as evidence in later court proceedings. This confidentiality is one of the reasons mediation encourages honest negotiation. Both parties can explore options and make proposals without fear that their statements will be used against them if mediation does not result in a full agreement.
Book your $100 consultation with Tali Best Collins and leave with a clearer understanding of whether mediation, divorce coaching, negotiation, or representation is the right next step.
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“Ms. Best resolved my spousal maintenance issue with my husband and his attorney in two hours. She accomplished what the lawyers could not do in 9 months of litigation. I am very grateful for her help.”
“We hired this law firm to represent our son in trying to get joint custody. They did a fabulous job keeping us informed as to their plan each week. I have to say I do not think my son would be enjoying his daughter right now with his 50/50 custody if it was not for this law firm.”
“You are the Best, before I retained counsel, I was not able to see my children and did not know what rights a father had in Arizona. I now have joint legal and physical custody. Thank you for all that you have done for my family.”
“Thank You! Thank you! Thank You! Thank you for getting my son what he deserves! Thank you for finally ending this 9 year chaos…I slept like a little baby last night! You are all GREAT!”
I’ve used Best Law Firm twice now. Excellent communication skills, rapid responses, and they know EXACTLY what they are doing. They look out for you.like one of their own and do everything they can to keep your case cost effective. Highly recommend!
“The service provided at ‘Best’ was beyond exceptional. The staff at ‘Best’ were professional, going above and beyond their normal duties to help me. I would sincerely recommend ‘Best’ for anyone looking for help with their families legal matters.”
“I have worked with Best Law Firm on two issues in the past 12 months. Their service is exceptional and the quality of their attorneys is second to none! So, their name (Best) is truly appropriate! I would recommend their legal services to anyone!”
Thank you for the excellence in your craft and communication each and every step of the way, for the care, for helping me to be brave and strong in holding someone accountable for their wrongdoings, for helping my sons and me to receive the best possible scenario out of the worst situation of my life.
“Alan was very professional and quick, he had our paperwork done the same day. When I called him to follow up I was able to speak with him then. Highly recommend Alan, he’s very easy to talk to, he’s very knowledgeable, and he means business.”
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