Mediation—a less expensive, less time-consuming, less emotionally draining alternative

Minnesota Divorce and Family Mediation is committed to helping clients determine their own divorce settlement, customized to their specific situation and standards of fairness. Mediation is an option that allows divorcing couples to maintain control over their decisions at a lower cost. Mediation is also an effective choice for never-married couples and for those experiencing post-decree conflicts.

In most cases, divorce is a difficult and painful process, both emotionally and financially. The traditional practice of hiring a lawyer and litigating in court to end a marriage is not only expensive, but can lengthen the process, increase contention, and cause additional and unnecessary stress on you, your spouse, and your children. Because of this, more and more couples are looking to mediation to walk them through the intricacies of divorce and help navigate parenting agreements. While divorce is rarely an easy event, the goal of mediation is to encourage and support you in developing the best solutions for your individual situation, in a collaborative way and on your time line, which ultimately lessens the negative impact of divorce on you and your family.

Minnesota Divorce and Family Mediation offers skilled guidance on all the important issues surrounding your divorce. The mediation process consists of guided sessions to determine how assets will be divided, discuss budgets and future financial needs, calculate child support and spousal maintenance (when necessary), and develop a parenting plan. Through mediation, couples maintain control over the important life decisions that need to be made during a divorce, while at the same time developing a new foundation for their future relationship with each other. By choosing this gentler approach to divorce, couples are more likely to be able to positively work together in the future; they are less likely to return to court for post-decree issues; and they are more fully prepared to move forward for a better tomorrow.

About Our Divorce Mediators:

Our divorce mediators, Tera Olson and Karin Clemon, met in 1997 when they worked together at a shelter for children ages 11-18. Their careers went separate ways until they were both drawn to divorce mediation. Partnering together, they now use their complementary backgrounds to help couples and families successfully navigate through the complexities of divorce.

Karin Clemon

Karin is a qualified neutral under MN Rule 114. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and an MBA from the University of St. Thomas. Additionally, Karin has extensive training in the mediation field and over 10 years of professional experience in conflict resolution, consensus-building, and negotiation. She combines her education, mediation training, and professional experiences to help clients successfully determine their own divorce agreement and avoid the emotionally and financially draining litigation process.

Tera Olson

Tera is a qualified neutral under Rule 114 of the Minnesota General Rules of Practice. She is one of the founding members and managing partners at Minnesota Divorce and Family Mediation. She has over 15 years of combined education, training, and professional experience in facilitation, team building, negotiating, and mediating resolutions of all matters. She uses a strengths-based, client-driven approach to develop thorough parenting plans for children tailored to their unique circumstances and future needs. She has experience with complicated parenting issues, children with special needs, mental health issues, domestic partnerships, and other non-traditional relationships. Tera's goal is to develop a comprehensive divorce agreement while minimizing stress and cost.