Married New Jersey couples who have chosen to take advantage of mediation to resolve their divorce have made a good choice. Divorce mediation offers many benefits over traditional litigation.
Benefits of mediation
Mediation is generally quicker and less costly than litigation. You are also likely to be more satisfied with the outcome, since you have some power over the decisions made, rather than leaving them up to a judge.
Additionally, mediation allows you to keep your divorce private, if staying out of the public eye is important to you.
There are several things you can do to prepare for your divorce mediation and increase your chance of a successful outcome.
Documentation
Bring all required documents to your mediation. This usually means financial documents regarding your assets, debts or any other marital property that will be divided.
Having incomplete or inaccurate documents will prevent you from resolving your property division, so it is important to gather, review and organize these beforehand.
Do not intentionally withhold or hide information. There are ways that this information can be discovered, and if your spouse or the mediator gets the idea that you are being dishonest, they may choose to end the mediation.
Mental preparation
It is also important to mentally prepare for your mediation. Divorce involves intense emotions that often take a long time to work through.
No one expects you to be over these emotions by the time you have your mediation but put them aside for the time being. Most bad decisions are made based on emotion, and letting your emotions get in the way of discussing and trying to resolve your divorce issues can lead to a poor outcome.
Keep the conversation productive
Divorce mediation is meant for couples to solve problems. It is not a place to complain about all the reasons the marriage went wrong or tell the mediator everything that is wrong with your spouse. Avoid using it for this reason or you will be wasting everyone’s time and money.
Everyone’s divorce is different, so learning how to best prepare for your mediation depends on your situation. Advice from a professional can help.
