Not every divorce ends up an ugly mess in the courts with loads of animosity on both sides. In many cases, both parties understand the relationship has run its course and it’s time to move on. Although there isn’t a vengeful sentiment, however, there can be tension no matter what.
There will be self-interest involved and that requires a third party to step in and help. Divorce mediation is something that these couples will go through. It is a way to avoid dragging things out in the courts by not contesting every point. In this article, we will go over how to prepare for mediation to make it as smooth a process as possible.
1. Get legal counsel
Even though you may not be heading to court for your divorce, it still makes sense to hire a divorce lawyer to help you. They can give you advice on how to proceed without trying to put your ex through the wringer. Going to a website like this one and researching the best divorce lawyer will help you to make sure that you understand the right approach to make sure your interests are being heard.
There will be compromises that have to happen, but with the right advice, you will know how much to give up and what you need to push for to make sure that the split is as equitable as possible.
2. Check your emotions
This is an emotional time and there can be no doubt about it. However, mediation needs to be viewed as a transaction in which both sides are looking after their own interests and trying to gain as much as possible while sacrificing as little as possible.
No matter how emotional you may feel, you have to put those emotions aside and take a pragmatic and almost business-like approach to the situation. This will help you make good decisions that are not going to derail everything you are hoping to achieve because you let one thing get in the way since you felt emotional about it.
3. Get your finances in order
If your finances are a confusing mess then it is going to take much longer than normal to be able to have a successful mediation in which both parties are satisfied.
Take the time to get organized so you can have your financial situation clear for the mediator to be able to assess the right way to divide things. Don’t try to hide any of your money away as this can put you in legal problems and jeopardize your mediation completely.
4. Do some research
A big benefit of going through mediation is that you choose the mediator as opposed to a judge being assigned your case if it goes to court.
This means that you have to do some research to find the mediator that you are comfortable using. The first thing to check is that the person you are thinking of has done some training in mediation and has credentials. These credentials should also include a history of the cases they have worked on so you can see that they have actual experience.