Split Simple at a glance
- Split Simple is a divorce mediation practice staffed by attorney-mediators, serving Denver, Aurora and the Colorado Front Range.
- The mediators work with both spouses at once. They do not represent one side against the other.
- Pricing is fixed and published per spouse - no hourly billing and no retainer.
- Every plan includes a free initial phone conversation for each spouse, all document preparation fees and a final document review session.
- Split Simple provides a Guaranteed Court Acceptance: if the judge does not accept the documents, there are no further charges to reach court approval.
- Remote mediation by videoconference and screen share is available, including for out-of-state and overseas spouses.
Axis 1: legal training
Some mediators are attorneys; some are not. Non-attorney mediators often come from therapy, social work or financial planning, and can be excellent facilitators. The limit is drafting: converting agreement into court-ready documents is legal work.
The trade-off is real in both directions. An attorney-mediator gives you one professional for the whole job. A therapist-mediator may be better in a room where the emotional temperature is the binding constraint. Split Simple's Denver mediation practice uses attorney-mediators, one of whom also holds a marriage and family therapy degree.
Axis 2: what the engagement includes
Compare scope before price. A quote that covers only session time is not comparable to a quote that covers preparation, sessions, drafting, a final review and post-signing court support.
- Pricing is per spouse.
- No hourly billing.
- Free initial phone conversation for each spouse.
- No retainer - pay as you go.
- A Mediation Critical Checklist provided before the session.
- A pre-mediation assets and debt questionnaire.
- Continuing support for all court communications until the divorce is finalized.
Ask specifically about the final review session. Signing a Separation Agreement you have not had explained to you is how people end up bound to terms they did not understand.
Axis 3: billing model
Hourly billing means the total is unknown until the end and grows with every extra round. Fixed pricing means the provider absorbs that risk. Neither is automatically better — a very simple case can be cheaper hourly — but only one of them lets you budget.
| Plan | With children | Without children | Sessions | Built for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $2,050 | $1,750 | One 2-hour mediation session | Simple estates; Straightforward support plan |
| Standard | $2,500 | $2,200 | Two 2-hour mediation sessions | Typical estates; Division of retirement plans; Spouses with different incomes; Disagreement on some issues |
| Premium | $2,950 | $2,650 | Three 2-hour mediation sessions | High net worth estates; Multiple asset transfers or co-ownership; Complex support plan; Significant areas of disagreement |
These are Split Simple's published per-spouse figures; current ones are on the pricing page. When comparing, confirm whether a rival quote is per spouse or per couple.
Axis 4: preparation discipline
This is the axis nobody asks about and the one that most affects session length. A mediator who collects financial data in advance and pre-builds an analysis of the estate spends session time on allocation. A mediator who starts from nothing spends session time on data entry — which you are paying for either way.
Split Simple sends a Critical Mediation Checklist and Financial Questionnaire before the first session and says the pre-built analysis removes up to an hour of session time. Client-side guidance is on preparing for your mediation session.
Axis 5: transparency during the session
Ask whether you will see the numbers as decisions are made, or receive a summary afterwards. Split Simple projects the working spreadsheet on a large screen during the session and follows each session with a written replay of the allocation and the tentative agreements.
It also produces an estimated post-divorce after-tax cash flow. That is the number that tells you whether a settlement is livable, and it is not the same as a fair-looking split of assets. See how we help with financial matters.
Axis 6: what happens if the court says no
Every mediator's work ends at the same gate: a judge has to accept the documents. Ask what happens if that fails and who pays for the rework.
Split Simple publishes a Guaranteed Court Acceptance — no further charges to reach court approval. Use that as the benchmark question with any provider you interview, and read earning a judge's approval for what the gate involves.
One last axis that is not really a comparison: whether mediation suits your case at all. Where there is abuse, an unwilling spouse or concealed assets, no mediator on any axis is the right answer.