If you and your soon-to-be ex have decided to finalize your divorce through mediation, you’ve made an excellent choice. If the process is successful, you will likely save a great deal of time and stress while reducing the emotional burden of the divorce on your family.
The more you understand about what’s to come in your divorce mediation, the higher chances of success you’ll have, so without further adieu, let’s take a look at the first stage of any mediation process: the mediation introduction.
The “mediation introduction” will involve your neutral third-party mediator giving an opening statement. This statement will offer the spouses important information about what they should expect. The mediator will tell the parties about his or her expertise, training and experience while also performing an “ethics” check to ensure that there are no conflicts of interest and he or she is, indeed, a “neutral” party without any reasons for bias.
During the introduction, the mediator will also discuss logistics pertaining to his or her fee, ask the parties to sign the “Agreement to Mediate,” remind the parties that their mediation process is confidential and remind the parties that they will review any proposed agreements with their attorneys before signing them. The mediator will also describe the structure of the process, the schedule for meetings and where the parties will be — i.e., in the same room or separate rooms, etc.
Finally, the mediator will encourage peaceful, diplomatic and respectful participation from both sides during the entire process. He or she will ask the parties to respect one another’s points of view and remain flexible with the primary goal of reaching a finalized divorce settlement.
Do you think you and your spouse could benefit from divorce mediation? Learn more about the process now.
