Even when agreement seems impossible, I help clients settle their divorce and family law cases.
PREPARING FOR MEDIATION
Preparation for the Financial Issues in Mediation
To get a head start preparing for divorce mediation, here's a divorce mediation checklist of documents that each party should gather and share with the other party if he/she does not have the same access to the information:
- Tax Returns (Federal & State)
- Pay Stubs
- W-2's, 1099's and K1's
- Partnerships & Other Business Interests Valuations
- Real Estate Property Valuations
- Vehicles, Boats, Trailers Valuations
- Statements for Savings, Checking, Money Market and CD Accounts
- Statements for Non-Retirement Investments such as Stocks, Bonds, Secured Notes, Mutual Funds
- Statements for any Stock Options, RSUs or Other Executive Compensation Plans
- Statements for Retirement Accounts and Pensions
- Statements for Annuities, IRAs, Deferred Compensation Plans
- Life Insurance (Whole Life Policies)
- Lists of all Jewelry, Antiques, Art, Coin Collections, or Other Property with significant value
- Statements regarding Accounts Receivable & Unsecured Notes
- Statements for Outstanding Real Estate Loans
- Statements for Credit Cards and Revolving Credit
- Documentation of Other Outstanding Loans and Debts
- Information regarding your homeowners insurance policy, auto insurance policy, and health insurance policy
- Documentation regarding expenses paid on behalf of your child(ren)
- Statements for any custodial or education funds held for your child(ren)
- A completed Domestic Relations Financial Affidavit
Preparation for Custody and Parenting Issues in Mediation
If you have children, plan to create a Parenting Plan at mediation. In order to be prepared to reach agreement on a Parenting Plan, you should consider the following:
- Where will the children primarily live and how often they will stay with each parent (a parenting time schedule)?
- How will you and the other parent share school breaks, holidays and the summer with the children?
- How will you make major decisions concerning the children?
- How will any future parenting disputes be resolved?
- Are there any other important stipulations on how you and the other parent will co-parent your children?
Preparation for Negotiation of Child Support
To learn more about how child support is calculated in Georgia, you can find the Georgia Online Child Support Calculator below. Take the time to sign up and create your own account where you can explore the Child Support Guidelines and create draft Child Support Worksheets for mediation.