Divorce: Mediation

My question involves a marriage in the state of: NEW JERSEY. I am recently separated from my wife after 29 years. I consulted a reputable lawyer to get an opinion. She stated that because my youngest is 23 and my only child at home....he is a senior in college so he will be emancipated soon. Other than maybe 40000 equity in the house and no assets other than our 401k's the results would be the same regardless of whether we each retained our own attorneys or go through mediation (if my wife agrees). Since my wife would have the house, after splitting everything the end result would be my wife being required to pay me 10 to 12k a year in alimony. She reiterated this 2 or 3 times (there is a big wage discrepancy). I received the retainer fee via mail and it stated that I could call if I had any questions "regarding the retainer" . I called but she was unavailable and would call me back(last Friday). I didn't expect a call because most of my questions did not deal with the retainer itself. She is a very reputable lawyer and very expensive...should I trust her estimate? She said she doesn't make guarantees but was pretty adamant. Obviously I nervous and stubborn. Also what does emancipated mean with regard to my 23 year college senior? Thanks

Divorce: Mediation