Resolution Mediation, a mediation business at 70 E. Hawthorne St., opened in Zionsville in August 2023.
The business team consists of Attorney-Mediator Tess Worrell, Mediator Hillary Sharpnack and Mediator Marli Emenhiser. They said the practice is dedicated to keeping families out of court and providing a safe legal process.
Worrell said the business partners chose Zionsville for the business based on previous connections with the community.
“Hillary and I worked at another firm in Zionsville, and we had a lot of connections here,” Worrell said. “We both love the community and love the connectedness of different businesses. We looked at some spaces in and around Zionsville, and then this became available within our budget. It is set up perfectly for us.”
Resolution Mediation primarily offers mediation services, including pre-marriage agreements, divorce mediation, post-divorce help and help with paternity cases. It also offers marriage mediation for couples struggling with marriage but not wanting a divorce.
“The bulk of what we do is either divorce or post-divorce agreements, helping couples as cooperatively as we can work together to decide what they’re doing with their money, what they’re doing about their children and how they’re transitioning,” Worrell said.
The business also offers children’s services, with Emenhiser leading as a child consultant. According to Worrell, child-inclusive mediation was developed in Australia by a therapist based on research on how to reduce the trauma of divorce for children.
“The process helps parents know what they need to be attending to in their parenting,” Worrell said. “Marley can provide some parent education and walk through what parents can do to support their children.”
Worrell and Sharpnack said the practice differs from other mediation firms in the area because they “don’t pit people against each other.”
“It is generally almost exclusively faster, cheaper and more productive than litigation processes,” Worrell said. “Something like 97 percent of couples who come here come to an agreement, and the process works, whereas in the shuttle mediation, the statistics are not that good. Less than five percent of our couples end up back in court after making an agreement.”
Resolution Mediation offers free informational meetings to clients wondering if the mediation process is right for them. The business is taking clients from all over the state.
“We want clients to know if you went the litigation route, here’s what’s likely to happen,” Worrell said. “If you work with us, here’s what we’ll do with you. They can decide what is the best process for their situation. We want to provide that to people because we want them to get to the best process.”
Resolution Mediation is open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday by appointment on Saturdays. It is closed on Sundays. For more, visit resolutionmediationin.com or call 317-793-0825.
