Mediation worked! Here's what actually helped
Just wanted to post something positive for once. We've been going back and forth on child support for 8 months and it was getting ugly. Finally agreed to try mediation last month and honestly it changed everything. The mediator helped us both see we weren't actually that far apart, we were just stuck in adversarial mode. Cost us 1500 each but saved us thousands in legal fees and way less stress. If you're thinking about it, I'd say do it before it gets to the courtroom stage. Feels good to actually be able to talk to my ex about the kids again.
This is the kind of post we need more of. Co-parenting is tough but when it actually works out it makes everything better for the kids. Happy for you.