What To Ask for at Mediation?
Hi, I’m Tulsa divorce attorney Keith Flinn. First I want to make clear every case is different and every client has differing priorities and desires to achieve out out of a divorce and that pertains to both the marital estate and potentially custody planning if children are involved. But here are some questions that you want to ask the mediator.
What are the costs of the services and how are they going to be divided by the parties? You’re going to want to iron out how much is the bill going to be based upon how many hours and how is it getting paid for by both of you. Is the mediator an attorney? And this is important as it relates to whether or not the mediator is going to be able to actually process any agreement that you make or whether one or both parties are going to require hiring an attorney in order to actually process any agreements that you come to at mediation.
What To Ask for in Terms of Property and Asset Division?
How does the mediator keep discussions on track and keep notes? And this is important because you don’t want to waste time in mediation. Obviously you’re paying an hourly rate for the mediation and generally you’re also going to want to have some form of documentation especially if agreements are made so that if there’s ever any kind of issue or conflict over what the terms that you agreed are there is a clear record from the mediator.
What you’re actually trying to get out of mediation after you’ve hired a mediator is a little bit different. And this is going to be driven by you personally but I wanted to offer up some guideposts to assist you. So you’re going to want to ask for a fair property division which includes your personal property and that means like tools, kitchenware, appliances, furniture, etc.
Considerations for Child Custody and Support
Asking for equitable division including asset division which includes bank accounts, investments, retirement accounts, rental properties, businesses that may be owned by one or both or operated by one or both, pensions, and hard assets like gold or palladium. You’ll want to make clear how debt is going to be allocated in the context of both property and asset division and to make sure that these debts are one, taken by an individual party and not jointly held, and two, able to be maintained and serviced after the division is done.
If children are involved, you’ll want to discuss both a custody plan which includes legal custody and physical custody, as well as child support. Legal custody being more of decision making authority and then physical custody or a child visitation schedule which sets forth exactly when and how decisions will be made and who has the children, at what times, and where the drop-off and pick-up is going to be, among other things.
Ready To Discuss Your Mediation Needs?
Now whether there’s a need for spousal support is another consideration to be had. If children are involved, insurance policies may need to stay or change and clear procedures for communication going forward should be discussed. For a low-cost consultation with Tulsa family law attorney Keith Flinn, call 918-770-7117 today.