Meet Kristyn Carmichael | Professional Mediator, Family Attorney, Certified Divorce Financial Analyst

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kristyn Carmichael and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kristyn, is there something you can share with us that those outside of the industry might not be aware of?
The legal field has always been a bit of a black box, with full trust in the lawyer as a professional and a lack of knowledge as to how the legal system truly works. We watch tv shows, like Law & Order, trusting that we will “have our day in court” and receive a fair outcome, but the legal process is very different from what we see on tv. My focus of practice is family law, primarily prenuptial agreements and divorce. Much of my role is to educate and shine light on the reality of the process rather than to keep the clients in the dark. The biggest misconceptions include:

1. Divorce is Inexpensive – While marriage is a constitutional right – divorce is not. For this reason, a marriage certificate is easy to obtain at very little cost (typically less than $50). A divorce, on the other hand, is structured with many hurdles and expenses, preventing many people from moving forward with their divorce process. In Arizona, our filing fees alone for a divorce typically range between $400 – $700. This is solely to file the initial paperwork, not to work with a professional to assist with the court. For an uncontested divorce (nothing to argue about) with attorneys, your average cost is around $5,000 – $10,000. For a contested divorce (you need to reach agreements) with attorneys, your average cost is $25,000 – $50,000, with many going into the hundred of thousands of dollars if someone goes to trial. Mediation, our area of practice, typically saves couples 80-90% on their cost. Our average uncontested divorce process is about $1,750 and our average contested divorce is about $7,000.

2. The Judge will choose my side and I will have my day in court – Due to the media and tv shows, we often think we will simply walk into a judge’s chambers and receive a verdict in our favor. In reality, there is a long road ahead. Arizona has a mandatory 60 day waiting period, meaning your divorce cannot be any shorter than 60 days. That being said, the average litigated divorce in Arizona take 8 months to over a year. Why? First, you begin your process with your attorneys trying to reach a settlement between you and your spouse. You may have some check-ins with the court like Resolution Management Conferences or Temporary Order Hearings, but these are short and scheduled out sometimes months in advance. Over 95% of cases are settled outside of court with attorneys rather than “having your day in court.” If you get to the point that you cannot reach settlement, then your attorneys may move forward with a trial before the judge. This typically does not occur until at least a year after you file. And once you are moving towards trial, you are likely paying hundred of thousands of dollars. I’ve seen cases where spouses paid $150,000 and were working through their divorce for over 1.5 years, 3 year divorces with over $500,000 in legal fees, and more. In mediation, our average length of divorce is 2-4 months.

3, My attorney and/or judge knows best – Not all attorneys are created equally and not all understand family law. I always advise my clients to work with a family law attorneys rather than a general practitioner. You want someone who understands family law specifically. It is also important to remember that most attorneys are working through your legal process, but they don’t have an understanding of the financial implications they are causing with the agreements they formalize. Your divorce has a substantial impact on your finances, yet most attorneys are not knowledgeable of said impacts and technically it is not their job to advise you on these financials. This can cause you to lose tens of thousands of dollars (if not more) if your agreements are not drafted correctly, or if your attorney does not understand the many options available to those going through a divorce. As for judges, in Arizona we rotate judges through the different courts (family, civil, probate, etc.). In family law, we always get the newest judges and that can impact your case negatively. Many judges only have a short day primer on family law before they are handling your case. This doesn’t mean your judge is wrong in their decision, as many judges on the bench are phenomenal at what they do, but it does mean that they can lack quite a bit of knowledge about the field, even drafting financial agreements incorrectly. We have to remember that the judges are given a massive caseload and only have so much time for each case. In mediation with our firm, your process is handled by a family attorney who is also a Certified Divorce Financial Analysts. Mediation allows you to have control over your agreements and outcome, rather than a judge making decisions for you.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Couples Solutions Center seeks to provide a compassionate and thoughtful approach, focussed on family-centered agreements. We believe in providing transparent fees to keep costs low, and expertise to help you create advantageous agreements. Our concierge services connect you with exceptional professionals to help you not only through your process itself, but also to better understand the implications surrounding your legal agreements and your future.

At Couples Solutions Center, we offer mediation services for couples at ever transitional point in their lives: getting married, moving in together, breaking-up, divorcing, or in disputes. Our services include premarital mediation, divorce mediation, parenting mediation, and marital financial mediation. In premarital mediation, we help couples have the difficult conversations prior to getting married to set themselves up for success, including discussions of finances, expectations, and communication. This may also include a premarital/prenuptial agreement. Similarly, our couples moving in together meet to understand the lack of legal protections they have as an unmarried couple, and create a cohabitation agreement to protect themselves from future events such as a break-up, death, or conflict. Our divorce mediation or parenting mediation service assists couples in reaching legally binding agreements on the division of their assets and debts, parenting plan agreements, and support, such as spousal maintenance and child support, outside of court. Our process offers a low cost solution for resolving their legal process from beginning to end, including assistance reaching all agreements and the drafting/filing of all legal documents. In marital financial mediation, we assist couples through their financial conflict that is causing problems within their marriage. Essentially, we help couples at any crossroads in their relationship by lowering conflict, opening lines of communication, and finding solutions.

Our firm is unique in that we truly offer a “concierge” service, assisting from beginning to end. I have been in practice for almost 10 years, assisting clients with the complexity of their legal and financial process. My background as a family attorney and Certified Divorce Financial Analyst allows me to give a unique perspective to our clients. Our service is personalized to our clients’ needs and we pride ourselves on providing the most in-depth service in Arizona when it comes to understanding the intersection between finances and the legal process. We are not your standard law firm or practitioner – we are here to guide you every step of the way.

Starting Couples Solutions Center has been one of the most rewarding ventures of my life – and that all comes down to the work we do for our clients. I love seeing the impact we make on our clients’ lives, from lowering conflict and protecting children from the legal system to watching our clients grow confidence in their finances and their relationships. I’m so grateful every day for the impact we can make on our clients’ lives and families.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Good question! I’m a foodie so it’s all about the good restaurants for me. My recent favorites would have to be Chantico, Sushiholic, Uniq Burger, and Vegan & Vine. I’m a big hiker, so I would go for my favorite hike locally – Piestawa – or head up to Sedona for Devil’s Bridge. You can’t go wrong with a coffee from Sip to start the day, and a cocktail at a speakeasy like Quartz to finish the day off. The Uptown Farmer’s Market is a favorite or a bike ride around Tempe Town Lake. We live in a beautiful state with so much to offer year round!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I have been blessed with so many amazing mentors and opportunities to get me to where I am today. I began my mediation career in law school with the support of Brian Pappas, Peg MacDougall, and Larry Schneider – who encouraged me to mediate family cases and take a non-traditional approach to resolving family disputes. After law school, I joined the Aurit Team, who helped me continue to grow as a professional and build my skills as a leader. My involvement with the Academy of Professional Family Mediators (APFM) has introduced me to phenomenal professionals and mentors throughout the field, including my colleague and friend – Amanda Singer. And my family’s support helped me start my own firm. A special shout-out to Kaila Thornton, my amazing legal assistant, for all she does for our clients and their families in a difficult time. She makes a true difference in their experience each day.

Website: https://www.couplessolutionscenter.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/couplesolutionsmediation/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristyn-carmichael-esq-cdfa

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@couplessolutionsmediation

Other: https://www.meetup.com/phoenix-divorce-bootcamp/

Image Credits
https://photofusionstudio.com/about/