Are you about to enter a mediation session? Here are some tips that will help you navigate what might be unfamiliar waters.
Prepare Your Financial Documents
Make a list of all the assets you have. It should include any and all financial information you have. This is not limited to, but might include: bank accounts, mutual funds, retirement funds, real estate, vehicles, time shares, businesses, stock. You’ll also need to list your debts, such as monthly payment on your mortgage and home equity lag, credit cards, private loans, and car loans. Make sure you have all the information, or at least as much as you can gather. Try to make sure this information is organized and clear to the mediator.
Don’t Get Emotional
Mediation is meant to be a negotiation process. Getting emotional, and heated in your emotions will not allow you the clear head you need for the mediation process. This is not the time to be hurtful or try to “get back” at your ex-spouse. This is the time to negotiate, and not argue. By working with your negotiator you can think about what you are looking to accomplish. Remember that it must be in the scope of what’s possible and realistic.
Negotiate, Don’t Argue
The past is the past. It cannot be changed. This, however, is a forward looking, proactive process. You will find this refreshing, and very helpful. Arguing is something that you have done before, and it does not work. Negotiating, however, works and works well. So the first question to ask yourself is: What do I want? Think about that. Then, together with your mediator, you can think about how to accomplish what you are looking for, within reason and within the scope of what is possible. And be forthright about what you want.
For advice on mediation, you need the expert law firm of Divorce Law LA. Schedule a consultation today.
Source: The Huffington Post, How to Prepare for Your First Mediation Session — Your Eight Steps Plan, October 17, 2013
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