Many New York divorces are contentious. Yours doesn’t have to be. In fact, there are several ways to resolve your marriage dissolution without heading to court to litigate the various legal issues confronting you. One option at your disposal is mediation, where a neutral third-party helps facilitate conversation between you and your spouse in an attempt to find mutually beneficial and agreeable resolution. While this process can save you time and money while giving you more control over the outcome of your divorce, you still have to be prepared heading into the process if you want to protect your interests and get the most out of your divorce.
What can you do to prepare for divorce mediation?
You shouldn’t go into your divorce mediation blindly. Instead, do the following to ensure that you’re adequately prepared for the process and so that you can protect your interests as fully as possible:
- Identify the legal issues that are most important to you and set the goals you hope to achieve during mediation.
- Conduct an inventory of the marital estate so that you know which assets are in play and can thus advocate for your fair share.
- Ready yourself for personal attacks and refrain from wanting to attack your spouse’s character, as you don’t want an emotional reaction to derail negotiations.
- Think about which issues your spouse will contest most aggressively.
- Consider where you’re willing and able to compromise to find resolution without giving away too much.
- If you have children, consider what sort of custody arrangement will be in their best interests, and consider how expenses related to their care will be handled, including insurance coverage.
Step into your divorce mediation as prepared as possible
There’s certainly a lot to do to get ready for a divorce mediation. But don’t let all of it consume you to the point that you become overwhelmed. Instead, think through a game plan in incremental pieces so that it feels more manageable, and so you can develop the strategy that targets as favorable of an outcome as possible.