Are you getting divorced and about to start the family mediation process? This is when you work with a mediator to come to agreements about finances, children, and other issues surrounding the divorce. The mediator isn't the person that will make decisions on what happens but provides you with the options that you have to pick from. The agreements made in mediation are legally binding, and the whole process is much more affordable than going to trial for litigation. Here are some tips that you should follow for successful mediation.

Talk Things Out Before Mediation

You do not have to wait until mediation starts to have discussions with your spouse about how to handle the divorce. Feel free to talk things out before mediation begins to get a head start on what you need to work out with a mediator. This will help you discover what the problematic issues will be so that you can better prepare for them. 

Make A List Of What You Will Not Compromise On

There are likely a few things that are very important to you prior to going into mediation. It's important to keep these things in mind by writing them down, which will help remind you to not budge on them early on in mediation. For example, you may be depending on a spouse's pension for your retirement and want the portion that would be considered rightfully yours since it was a part of your retirement planning when you got married. 

Be Prepared To Compromise When Necessary

On the flip side, understand that the mediation part of mediation is making compromises so that your divorce doesn't need to go to a trial. A trial will take the decisions out of your hands and lets a judge make them for you, which removes a lot of control over the situations. Be prepared to make compromises to move mediation forward in a positive way. 

Decide If You Want To See Your Spouse

One of the nice things about mediation is that it can help take emotions out of negotiating, which is easily done by removing yourself from the room that your spouse is in. All communication can go through the mediator, with them acting as the middleman for your discussions. They will help edit the words from your spouse and boil things down to just the issues that are being discussed in the moment. However, you do have the option to go through mediation in the same room, which can speed up how fast the process will take overall.

Contact a local mediation attorney to learn more.