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Divorce court battles can be expensive and fuel contention between the parties. That is likely why mediation is one of the most commonly used methods of negotiating a divorce settlement. In mediation, you and your spouse, along with a neutral third party, the mediator, work together to discuss and resolve divorce issues. The role of the mediator is to guide and facilitate negotiations between you and your spouse in order to reach mutually agreeable solutions.
Not only is mediation often much less expensive than divorces requiring court intervention, but the mediation is confidential, it allows you and your spouse control over the process, and it is much more likely to preserve whatever positivity is left in your relationship with your spouse (which is critical if there are minor children resulting from the marriage and there will be a need for effective co-parenting after divorce).
Divorce Mediation
The divorce mediation will begin with the mediator walking you and your spouse through what will go on during the mediation process. During this initial meeting, the mediator will likely want to take care of some clerical details such as signing confidentiality agreements, etc. You will also be granted a chance to make a brief statement about your situation and your goals. Your spouse will have this same opportunity. These initial statements are likely to generate further questions by the mediator who will be seeking clarification and looking to gather further information.
In order to start off the actual process of mediating to reach an agreement, the mediator will need to ascertain what areas you and your spouse already agree on and what areas still need to be resolved. Once the mediator has ascertained what areas still need to be worked out, the mediator may request that you and your spouse gather more information relating to these areas. The information will usually be brought to the next mediation session.
Once the mediator has more information on all outstanding issues relating to the divorce, the mediator will go over the order in which the issues will be addressed. Some mediators prefer to deal with the simpler issues first. During the negotiation process, it is important to remember that you came to the negotiation to resolve some tough issues. Be open to compromise. You may not agree with your spouse’s point of view, but you should at least try to understand where he or she is coming from. Upon completion of negotiations, an agreement will be drafted. The agreement will be included in the rest of the requisite divorce paperwork and be incorporated in the final divorce decree.
Florida Divorce Attorney
Whether mediation is right for you is a big decision. The trusted divorce attorneys at Bernal-Mora & Nicholaou will help provide legal counsel so you can make informed decisions about your options for the divorce process. Contact us today.
