Divorce Mediation Services in Minnesota
At divorce financially, we believe that having sound financial guidance during your divorce is a wise investment. In our experience, over 70% of the decisions you make in your divorce are financial. Our unique advantage is combining our experience as financial professionals and mediators. If you would like a financially focused mediation, please call us at 952-428-7800 for a complimentary consultation with one of our divorce financial mediators. Or fill out our contact form here.
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Benefits of Mediating your divorce
The primary reason and benefit to mediation is you can start your divorce process without being on a court calendar and hiring attorneys. This allows you to move faster and save money.
Fun Fact: over 90% of divorce cases in Minnesota are resolved before they even reach court. Mediation is such an effective process that the state of Minnesota requires you to make a good faith effort to settle your divorce through an Alternative Dispute Resolution, also known as an ADR before appearing in court.
Read more about the ADR requirements in the state of Minnesota.
Top benefits of financial mediation:
- Have confidence knowing you are receiving financial guidance to ensure everything is handled correctly and you are avoiding big financial mistakes.
- Financial education. Most couples had different roles in their marriage and so there could be a knowledge gap as you begin your divorce process. We take time to educate, to help bridge the gap so you and your spouse can move through the process more efficiently and cost effectively.
- Doesn’t drain your finances. Mediation allows you to focus on the main issues at a much lower cost than a litigated divorce with attorneys.
- No one wants a drawn-out divorce full of stress, unresolved issues, and disagreements. A timely divorce is more regularly achieved through mediation than processing it through the court system.
- There is a higher probability of compliance from your spouse with a mediated divorce since its terms are mutually discussed and agreed upon, unlike imposed court orders. A mediated divorce is highly personalized for your needs.
- Mediation sessions are entirely confidential, meaning that no one can be called to testify about what occurred during your consultations in the future. You and your spouse will have a safe space to have honest discussions with each other during the divorce process.
- Mediation helps protect you from future conflict through professional guidance and crafted actions plans. This is especially true as it relates to financial decisions you will make.
- Mediators act as a neutral aid that can keep your attention concentrated on planning for your future instead of rehashing past issues.
- You, your spouse, or both of you can still utilize attorneys as a part of a mediation process. A mediation process should be flexible to fit the needs of you and your spouse.
Ultimately, a mediation process should be flexible to fit the needs of your family. We understand that every situation is different and so we tailor the process to fit your families unique needs within our proven process that has been formulated through over 45 years of combined experience.
We recommend you take a look at our Divorce FAQ page to help you get a better understanding on how the divorce mediation process works.
Preparing for a mediated divorce
Before going to court, the state of Minnesota requires all divorcing parties to participate in an alternative dispute resolution process, such as mediation, due to its effectiveness. At Divorce Financially, we believe many divorce situations can benefit from mediation as long as both clients agree to the divorce and are open to compromising with each other.
Mediation boasts high success rates with less emotional distress in comparison to a contested divorce. Through the divorce mediation process, we prioritize your families needs and interests to ensure financial success in the future.
Complicated Cases
If you believe that your divorce is a complicated case and that mediation will not be enough for your situation, we suggest you first educate yourself before coming to any conclusions.
It’s important to identify if your case is complicated because of the financial issues or if it’s complicated because of interpersonal dynamics.
The foundation of a mediation process is the willingness for both spouses to work together and ultimately to come to agreements on their own.
At Divorce Financially, you are in control of the divorce process. Your mediation process can also include additional professional assistance such as therapists, child specialists, and attorneys, among other professionals.
Domestic Abuse
Mediation can help complicated divorces. However, in regards to domestic abuse, it may become difficult for a mediator to determine if the victim is expressing their concerns or being coerced into an agreement out of fear of their abuser. In this situation, a court hearing is often the better option.
What to expect in Our divorce mediation Process
At the beginning stages of a divorce, there are a lot of questions often starting with “how does the process work?” Here is our standard process (that can be modified) to provide some context:
- Organize and gather your documentation
- Generate options
- Evaluate options
- Negotiate & make decisions
- Draft up agreements
At Divorce Financially, we help you get to step 5 through the following process:
First Financial Meeting
This is the financial review meeting. We request all of your financial documentation 5 business in advance of this meeting. We organize everything into our reports and our meeting time is spent reviewing to ensure we are all on the same page and we identify information that may still be needed. We also have many discussions around your goals and interests. This is a 1.5 – 2 hour meeting.
Learn more about our Financial Services.
Second financial Meeting
The focus of this meeting is to project future budgets for you, your spouse and children (if applicable). Your homework is to provide six-twelve months of spending history to give some data to help us accurately and realistically project your expenses.
Third Financial Meeting
Our goal in this meeting is to generate or brainstorm different property division and cash flow options. Most folks don’t make any decisions in this meeting as the goal is to initially explore different scenarios and get a sense of how things work.
Additional Meetings
We can have as many additional meetings as we need until agreements are reached. In our experience we may need 1-3 additional meetings (after the third meeting) for most families to come to an agreement.
Other Process notes
Your mediator acts in a neutral capacity and keeps transparency throughout the process.
Other professionals such as attorneys can be brought into the mediation process. One or both of you can retain attorneys and can be involved in meetings or not. However you choose to go through your mediation process is fine, you and spouse just need to be in agreement.
If you would like to learn more, we offer a complimentary 30 minute phone call or zoom meeting. You can call us at 952-428-7800 or fill out this form.
Mediation helps protect you from future conflict through professional guidance and crafted action plans. Our mediators act as a neutral aid that can keep your attention concentrated on planning for your future instead of rehashing past issues.
What's our role as Financial mediators?
Our financial mediation process provides you with professional guidance and support in the effort to lessen the emotional and financial burdens you may carry when confronting a divorce. We help you by:
- Providing a safe and respectful environment to have discussions.
- Maintaining the power balance between you and your spouse, giving you equitable time to speak and be heard
- Collecting and organizing all of your financial information
- Completing a balance sheet with your assets and liabilities
- Helping you construct future budgets including illustrating different potential housing options and expenses you want to continue to plan for you children.
- Facilitating constructive conversations around property division options, children’s expenses, child support and spousal maintenance
- Helping you evaluate the pros and cons of the financial options generated
- Ensuring you don’t make financial mistakes
- Understanding the court system and divorce process
What documents to prepare
You will need to prepare the following documents for your divorce mediation:
A note on the collaborative process
Collaborative divorce is an additional method of alternative dispute resolution that couples can pursue to avoid litigation. The process differs from divorce mediation in the following ways:
- A participation agreement is signed by both spouses and their attorneys stating you’re not going to court.
- Instead of working with a mediator, you and your spouse will each hire a Collaborative attorney as well as other neutral professionals such as a financial neutral, child specialist and coach.
- If you and your spouse cannot resolve your conflict or find an acceptable compromise for your issues, you will shift your divorce process over to new attorneys in a court process.
how to choose a mediator right for you
Your mediation will require a trained professional with experience in assisting with dissolving marriage relationships. This person should have a vast understanding of Minnesota state divorce laws, the mediation skills necessary to maintain productive conversations and the financial knowledge to ensure things are done right.
Divorce Financially in Edina, Minnesota aims to provide you with divorce mediation that is both cost-effective and focused on setting up the framework for your future.
mediation services in mN
At Divorce Financially, our mediation services have helped many clients reach financial conclusions to their marriages. We’re always happy to answer our clients’ questions about the mediation process.
As a safety precaution due to COVID-19, we also offer the option to hold sessions with clients remotely as a video conference rather than in-office. We will work with you via whatever contact method you prefer.
Divorce is a complex process that can leave anyone feeling frustrated or defeated, but you don’t have to go through a messy court battle or settle with unsatisfying litigation to solve your issues.
Instead, approach your issues respectfully and collaboratively through the mediation process with Divorce Financially. Our mediators are ready to help you ensure a smooth divorce settlement and set you on the path of new beginnings. Please call 952-428-7800 today for a complimentary consultation.
