Jun 27, 2011

A Contract worthy of consideration

Divorce and General Articles

Divorce mediation is a growing trend for couples of sound mind and a large dose of common sense.  Mediation is less stressful, more cost effective and faster than the traditional litigated divorce process.  What’s the catch?  There is no catch but there is a contract of behavior between the parties that will assure the best result for all concerned.  If you and your spouse can agree to these Rules of Conduct, then divorce mediation is the right solution for you!

1)      Each party agrees to work hard toward compromising and maintaining flexibility in their positions until the marital settlement agreement is signed.

2)      The parties acknowledge and accept that each will experience a decrease in their standard of living as a result of the decision to separate
and/or divorce.

3)      The parties will present positions based on need not on greed.

4)      Decisions about children are made first and children cannot be used as bargaining tools for financial matters.

5)      Past marital issues, such as blame, fault, or other issues leading up to the marriage difficulties, will not be brought into the mediation sessions, unless directly related to parenting issues.

6)      Each party agrees to fully and voluntarily disclose all information pertaining to this matter.

7)      Each party agrees that they will pay for the other party’s legal fees and costs if they are found liable for breach of the marital settlement
agreement by the court.

8)      All communication with the mediator about the issues to be decided will take place with both parties present.

9)      The parties will show respect to the mediator and to each other.

10)   Each party agrees to cooperate fully in all the steps necessary to get a marital settlement agreement signed in a timely manner.