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| Steps
to Settlement How
it starts
During your initial contact with our office, we will ask you
some basic questions about your situation and answer any questions you have about
the process. This can be done with you alone, or in a conference call with your
former spouse or partner. If you are calling on your own, we will suggest ways
you can discuss the process with your ex, or, if you wish, we will contact them
directly to see if they are open to the settlement process. Once everyone has
agreed to meet, we will schedule the first session.
Scheduling
We usually schedule a three-hour time period for each settlement
session. A shorter period is usually not long enough to resolve major issues efficiently,
while a longer session can be overwhelming. Our goal, however, is to help you
make the most progress possible in any one session. So, session length may vary,
depending on the complexity of the issues and the ability of the parties to agree
on solutions. How
the process works
During the session, you will get a chance to fully
discuss every issue that is important to you, and to understand the legal and
practical aspects of each issue before you agree on any resolution of it. The
overall settlement process looks like this: -
Each party will have the chance to discuss the overall situation from their point
of view and express what issues are important for them.
- From
that discussion, we will create a list of issues to be discussed and resolved.
- A
discussion timeline, or set of priorities will be set up.
- Once
an agreement on an issue has been reached, we will document it for you.
- If
more information is needed before a decision can be made, we may give you some
"homework." Essentially, this will be a list of information to obtain,
or documents to bring, or forms to fill out for the next session.
- If
it is necessary or helpful, we will provide you with a letter summarizing the
interim agreements you have made, as well as a list of the items needed for the
next session.
- The
next mediation session will be scheduled.
- Between
sessions, you may wish to meet with your independent advisors (i.e. attorney,
accountant). You may also individually contact us to discuss the case between
sessions.
- When
all issues have been resolved, we will draft a formal agreement for your signature,
and submit it to the court to be signed by a judge and become an order of the
court.
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