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.
The first fork: attorney-mediator or not
“Mediator” is not a protected job title the way “attorney” is. Two people can both call themselves Denver divorce mediators and offer materially different services, and the difference shows up at the end of the process rather than the beginning.
A non-attorney mediator can facilitate the conversation, but there is a limit to what they can draft. An attorney-mediator can facilitate the conversation and prepare the Separation Agreement, the Parenting Plan and the court filings. Split Simple staffs attorney-mediators and sets out the reasoning on its advantage of an attorney-mediator page.
The practical question to ask any candidate: who writes the documents the judge will read, and is that included in the price? If the answer is that you take the mediator's notes to a separate lawyer, you have two bills, not one.
The nine questions
- Are you an attorney? If yes, where are you licensed, and how long did you practice family law before mediating?
- Do you represent either of us? The right answer is no. A mediator has no authority to impose a decision. The mediator facilitates; the spouses decide.
- Who drafts the Separation Agreement and Parenting Plan? And is drafting inside the quoted price or billed after?
- How am I billed? Hourly, flat, per spouse or per couple — and what triggers an overage.
- What happens if the judge rejects the paperwork? Ask who pays to fix it.
- What do I have to do before the first session? A mediator who asks for nothing in advance will bill you for the data-gathering in the room.
- Will I see the numbers as we go? Or do I get a summary afterwards.
- What happens between sessions? Ask whether questions in the gap are answered or metered.
- What kinds of cases do you turn away? A mediator who claims every case is mediable is selling, not screening.
How Split Simple answers them
Taking the nine in order, from what the firm publishes: its mediators are attorneys; Split Simple's attorney-mediators work with both spouses at once and do not represent one side against the other.; drafting and all document preparation fees are inside the plan price; pricing is fixed per spouse with no hourly billing and no retainer; the Guaranteed Court Acceptance covers rework if the judge does not accept the documents; a Critical Mediation Checklist and Financial Questionnaire go out before session one, described on preparing for your mediation session; the working spreadsheet is projected on a large screen during the session; and the mediator stays available between sessions with continuing support for court communications until the divorce is finalized.
Question nine is the one to press in person. Mediation needs two participating spouses. Where one will not participate, or where there is abuse or concealment, no neutral has the authority to force the issue.
Who you would actually be working with
Chris Griffith — Founder and attorney-mediator
Trained as a lawyer and also studied family therapy. He worked in family and mediation law for years before founding Split Simple, and helped develop the data-driven process the firm runs today. He works in Denver, serves clients across Colorado, and handles remote mediation for clients in other states.
- BA Psychology, Wake Forest University (cum laude)
- MS Marriage and Family Therapy, East Carolina University (first in class)
- JD, University of North Carolina School of Law
- Member, Colorado Bar Association
- Member, Mediation Association of Colorado
- Member, The Academy of Professional Mediators
Jaime Watman — Attorney-mediator
She spent over five years as a Family Court Facilitator working with unrepresented parties, which put her through the court's divorce process end to end. She is well versed in the document preparation a court needs before it will approve Separation Agreements and Parenting Plans. Before the court role she was in private practice with a family law focus. She works in the Greater Denver area.
- BA Political Science and Legal Studies, University of Delaware
- JD, Suffolk University Law School
Both bios sit on the about the divorce mediators page, and client feedback is collected on the reviews page.
What the engagement looks like once you pick someone
- Consultation and scheduling. A free phone consultation with your mediator, separately for each spouse, to settle on the fixed pricing plan that matches your divorce. Then the first session is booked at a location and time that works for both of you.
- Mediation preparation. Split Simple sends a Critical Mediation Checklist covering the topics and documents you need, plus a Financial Questionnaire. Your mediator uses the questionnaire to prepare a preliminary analysis of your estate in advance, which the firm says cuts up to an hour off session time.
- Mediation session or sessions. Two-hour sessions facilitated by your attorney-mediator, covering allocation of assets and debts and, where relevant, parenting plan options. The working spreadsheet is projected on a large screen so you watch every number change in real time. Your mediator also produces an estimated post-divorce after-tax cash flow reflecting your new filing status and support plan.
- Mediation replay. After each session you receive the proposed asset and debt allocation plus a written summary of what was discussed and tentatively agreed. Your mediator stays available between sessions.
- Review. Your mediator drafts a Separation Agreement and, where applicable, a Parenting Plan, along with the court documents - written to be readable rather than in legalese. You go through all of it with the mediator before you sign anything.
- Your guarantee. You leave the final review session with everything needed to finalize, and with Split Simple's Guaranteed Court Acceptance: if the judge does not accept the documents, there are no further charges to get to court approval.
Two things in that sequence are worth checking against any other mediator you interview: whether preparation happens before the first session, and whether a final review session — where somebody walks you through what you are signing before you sign it — is included or extra.