Part Three: After The Mediation Process
This is part 3 of a 3 part series.
Divorce is tough, and it can be costly. While an attorney-driven divorce battle can take months if not years and cost tens of thousands of dollars, it is possible for couple’s to engage in a collaborative divorce process. We utilize divorce mediators to help you through using our custom divorce mediation process. If you’re looking into alternatives to a traditional divorce route and hiring expensive divorce attorneys, consider these tips.
- Carefully Review your Agreement.
Even if you don’t hire a lawyer to review your agreement, you should still fully understand and agree to the agreement before you sign it. Read it over a few times, with some time in between to think about it and clear your head. Make notes for any sections that you don’t understand and ask the mediator about them. Make sure the terms are the same as what you agreed to — if not, notify the mediator and ask for clarification or a change (don’t sign something that isn’t what you agreed to!).
- Make a Check-List for What’s Next.
The mediator will help you finalize the divorce, but you may have additional tasks like actually splitting up the assets as you agreed. Is one person keeping a joint bank account? Does a car need to be re-titled to the spouse who’s keeping that car? Do you need to purchase insurance in your own name? While these will all be in your agreement, having the “to-do list” on a single checklist will help you finalize your separation and divorce.
- Review your Will, Beneficiary Declarations, and Power of Attorney
After a divorce is a good time to review other estate planning documents or long-term assets to make sure that in the event of your death or disability your affairs will be in order. Think about employment benefits like disability insurance, life insurance, or retirement plans. Think also about who will step in to make medical decisions and financial decisions if you are unable. If you have documents like a Will, Trust, or Power of Attorney they may need to be updated, or you may want to consider getting these drawn up for life after divorce.
Please reach out to us today for a free consultation with a divorce attorney mediator.