When it comes to a couple separating permanently in San Francisco, Palo Alto, San Jose, Walnut Creek, Santa Clara, CA, Portland, OR, and the surrounding areas, most people believe that it needs to get done in the court system. However, at Sugarman & Company LLP, we offer divorce mediation as an alternative to divorce court. From having your divorce agreement, a private matter versus public record, having a greater say in how the outcome turns out, as well as being more flexible in arranging the meetings to suit your schedule, divorce mediation is a more preferable option for divorce. But when you get ready to head to your first divorce mediation meeting, there are several things that you should do to be prepared, including a complete financial analysis with appropriate documentation and having a list of the topics that you want or need to discuss as it pertains to the divorce. Our team can provide you with guidelines while remaining impartial and working with various counsel helping all parties come to a workable solution. Contact us today to learn more about using divorce mediation instead of the court system.
What To Discuss in Divorce Mediation
Before the first meeting, you will need to know all of the property and finances of the marriage, and to obtain or develop appropriate documentation as this will be an important topic to be discussed. What items are personal to one or the other, and what are considered marital property to be discussed and divided. Retirement accounts, if any exist, will also be up for discussion. This can be a more challenging topic but needs to be addressed in some fashion. Spousal support is another topic to address, and this may be somewhat dictated by the state’s laws.
Child custody and child support also need to be part of the mediation if children are part of the marriage. If there are any insurance policies that are jointly owned, these will need to be divided and each party obtaining their own. Future communication is another important part of the discussions, as if one party doesn’t uphold their end of the agreement, what is to happen and how.
Don’t Ignore Unique Situations
No two families and marriages are the same, and there can sometimes be unique issues in a relationship that need to be drawn out more in a divorce mediation. This is the time to bring them up, not later once the agreement has been signed. And while all of this seems messy, it is a much calmer way to do things rather than have a judge take just a few minutes to decide the future with decisions that you have little or no say in.
While some divorce mediations in San Francisco, Palo Alto, San Jose, Walnut Creek, Santa Clara, CA, Portland, OR, and the surrounding areas can be done in a single session, others may take several sessions depending on the complexity of the situation and relationship. If you are heading toward a divorce, it is better to try the divorce mediation option with Sugarman & Company LLP than to leave it up to a judge and court system to decide. Contact us today to schedule a time to meet with our divorce mediation team.