Thinking About Divorce? Here’s What you Need To Know
If you are considering seeking a divorce from your spouse, it is important to think hard about the long term implications and decide if this is the best course of action for you and your family. Whether you have been thinking about this possibility for some time or something has happened that has caused you to consider it more acutely, thinking ahead and planning can help you navigate the process with less financial and emotional stress. Here are 5 things you need to know if you are seriously considering divorce in the next 6-12 months:
Many people assume that divorce mediation can only work if your relationship is amicable. This is a myth about resolving the terms of a divorce. Litigation can actually raise the temperature of a divorce – and make it even more adversarial rather than less. Litigation takes many months longer than mediation and that time generally only fuels more emotion, pain and frustration. So, whether your divorce is adversarial or amicable, mediation can work for your situation. Even if your divorce is adversarial or complex, here are some of the reasons to consider mediation to settle the terms of your divorce:
When you get married, you share your life and that includes many shared possessions. You may come into the marriage with a few things, but between wedding gifts and things that you accumulate together over time, you build quite a collection of furniture, appliances, jewelry, exercise equipment, photos, and more. But, in addition, if you own your home, a vehicle or other property, this must also be split if you decide to divorce. You must also split assets that you share (think retirement, savings, investments, etc.). This can be an overwhelming process even in the best of circumstances. Fairly dividing your assets
Fortunately, divorce is not something that you generally go through very often in your life. A divorce is never exactly expected or planned for so when you decide you are ready to move forward, you likely have a lot of questions about the process. Most individuals assume that the only way to settle a divorce is to go through the court system. However, divorce mediation has become a very viable option for settling all terms of a divorce, without having to set foot in a courtroom. If you are not familiar with how divorce mediation works, here are five important facts that can provide some information to help you decide
A divorce agreement is the written document that outlines the decisions (or agreements) that you make with your ex about the outstanding issues in your divorce. Very often, a divorce agreement covers the division of all of your joint property (including assets and debt), an outline of your parenting plan and/or custody agreement and spousal or child support (if necessary). Johnson Mediation can help you through the process of developing your divorce agreement through the mediation process, rather than having to go through the litigation
It is estimated that between 70-85% of cases that go through mediation are settled. When you stop and think for a second, that is pretty remarkable, in large part because each and every one of those cases are trying to settle a dispute. The two parties often do not agree about how the dispute should be settled, so they need professional assistance to sort this out. When it comes to divorce, the disagreements between the two parties are compounded by the emotion, sadness and pain of realizing that your marriage is over. Mediation is considered so effective that the Minnesota court system is now recommending that all divorce cases go through mediation before going through the courts. If you are coming to terms with the idea of a divorce
