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Your Responsibilities during Your Divorce Mediation
When you decide to use mediation, rather than litigation, to end your marriage, you and your spouse can save yourself a significant amount of time and money. Although mediation is often “easier” than completing a courtroom divorce, it is not without its demands on the divorcing couple. You have certain responsibilities to uphold while you work through your divorce, which include the following:
Provide All Relevant Documents to Divide Your Marital Assets
Division of your marital assets will likely be the most time-consuming portion of your divorce. Make this part as straightforward as you can by coming to your mediation sessions with all your relevant documents handy. These might include:
- A recent appraisal of your home;
- Statements for your financial accounts;
- Pay stubs;
- An itemized list of your tangible assets and their values; and
- Your most recent tax returns.
Acknowledge Your Spouse’s Concerns and Goals
Mediation only works if both parties are willing to work together. One of your responsibilities during mediation is to acknowledge your spouse’s position and even if you do not agree with it, validate his or her point of view. That is the position from which he or she is approaching the divorce and you, as the other party involved, must be willing to acknowledge this and work with him or her to reach an equitable settlement.
Be On Time, Be Cooperative, Be Flexible
Just like recognizing your spouse’s position is an important part of cooperating during your mediation, so is making it a priority to get to your meetings on time and work with your spouse and the mediator to reach a settlement. You might have to put one goal aside to achieve another goal. The more flexible you are willing to be, the more likely you will be to reach a satisfying compromise.
Assert your Own Goals and Concerns
Never confuse your responsibility to be flexible and validate your spouse’s concerns with your responsibility to yourself. You, too, have the right to vocalize and assert your divorce goals, and you cannot achieve them without making them known during your mediation sessions.
In a divorce mediation, everybody involved has responsibilities. The mediator’s responsibility is to facilitate your conversations with your spouse to determine productive ways to reach your goals. Your lawyer’s responsibility is to protect your rights, and your spouse’s lawyer has this same responsibility to him or her. Your spouse has the same responsibilities you have – to work cooperatively toward a satisfying divorce settlement.
Work with an Experienced St. Charles Divorce Lawyer
If you know you are ready to end your marriage, but think you can end it peacefully through mediation, contact a Kane County divorce lawyer with specific experience handling divorce mediation to talk more about your case. Matthew G. Shaw at Shaw Sanders, P.C. can work with you to find the ideal method for completing your divorce and represent you to your final settlement. Call us today at 630-584-5550 for assistance with your case.
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