I am getting married for the second time. Both of us have children from our first marriages and will be living in my house after we are married. Do we need a premarital agreement?
Legal Issues
Do both parties need to be in the same room during a mediation session?
Mediation is always better in person, and in fact, we’re starting to have a big movement about international mediators and having places where people can meet internationally when a party lives in a different country. But it’s totally possible with technology to not do it in person. I’ve had successful mediations that way. This is […]
Will both spouses need to hire their own lawyers in addition to their mediator?
That’s something that is a good idea, but it’s not necessary. Sometimes, we’re able to resolve everything and neither party will hire an attorney of their own; they’ll just trust the process that we went through together and feel like they have all the information that they need. They know that I’m an attorney as […]
Do you find that successful mediation is generally cheaper than litigation?
Mediation is always cheaper. It’s not cheap though. It does cost money because it takes some time and it needs to be thorough and complete. It needs to be done very carefully. When I talked about the all-day marathon that’s an all-day thing, that costs money. But when you’re talking about preparing for a trial, […]
What can a divorcing couple do to prepare for their first mediation session?
They should try to identify the major issues in dispute. Sometimes when couples come to me, they’ve already agreed on several things, but they know the things that they don’t agree on. I can also help them, in the first mediation session, identify major issues that maybe they overlooked or didn’t even think about. The […]
WATCH: How does the court determine child support and maintenance?
Read the transcript of this video below. In the State of Missouri, child support is determined by using a chart and following a formula, which takes both Mom and Dad’s gross monthly income into consideration. In a nutshell, we compare the percentage each spouse contributes to their overall combined income and they share in […]
WATCH: How do I keep my divorce private?
Read the transcript of this video below. Keeping divorce private can be summed up in one word: Mediation. In divorce mediation, there are: 1. No public court hearings; 2. No depositions; 3. No submissions of evidence; 4. No courtroom testimony; 5. No discovery; With mediation, we can file your divorce documents in a foreign […]
What is the difference between mediation and marriage counseling?
Typically, when parties are with me, they understand that they’re negotiating a settlement in their divorce matter. But with our new collaborative agenda these days, a lot of times we don’t like to file for divorce at first. We’d rather just sit down and have meetings and mediation before any paperwork is filed. That may […]
What is the difference between divorce mediation and divorce arbitration?
The main difference is that in divorce mediation you get to choose the outcome. If you don’t agree that this is the solution that I want to agree to for my parenting plan or my spousal support, then you can leave. You can get up and leave, and you can say, “I don’t want to […]
WATCH: What is the difference between a litigated divorce and a mediated divorce?
Read the transcript of this video below. Litigation is a process wherein both parties, husband and wife, each hire their own attorneys to represent their separate interests in Court. If the parties cannot come to their own agreement regarding how to divide their property, agree on a parenting plan for their children and plan […]
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