DECIDE
Make the decision to mediate, and be sure that your spouse is on board (it takes two…). If he or she has any questions, you can give them a copy of our free mediation report, have him or her call us, or encourage a discussion with their lawyer.
Once you have come on board and made us part of your team..
BRAINSTORM
Think about what you are really looking to accomplish, so that our time is well spent. Some people find it helpful to make a list of 2 or 3 key things that are most important to them, or there might be one big thing that is holding up everything else. Your attorney can help you decide what you want to focus on in mediation. If you just aren’t sure, maybe because you are getting a head start, that’s okay. I can help you both decide together.
INDIVIDUAL SESSIONS
I will talk to each of you individually about what is going on and what we are looking to accomplish.
LET’S MEDIATE
The three of us meet in a conference room and the process begins…. You both will determine how long you need and how many sessions you wish to have. We can play it by ear at first because oftentimes, we get a better sense of where we need to go once we have begun. Some mediations are done over the course of a week, several weeks, or several months.
THE END
Once mediation has been concluded, I will prepare a Memorandum of Understanding and send it to both of you (usually by email, unless you request something else) and to your lawyers. Your lawyers should then be reviewing it with you and answering any legal questions you have about what was agreed to. One of the lawyers will then typically “flush it out” into a legal document which can then be signed by the judge. If you have not reached a full agreement, lawyers and their clients may use a partial agreement as a good starting point for continued negotiations.