What to bring to Mediation

Because Mediators charge by the hour, stop and contemplate what issues are not resolved. Bring documentation to prove your position. If your soon to be ex thinks you make $200K per year and you only made 100K per year, it's much more time efficient to bring your W-2, K-1 or tax records proving your point. Always bring health insurance information, especially if children are involved. Bring day care expenses and receipts. If you are insured through a spouse you will not be able to stay on their health insurance policy post divorce. Do some checking and get COBRA and private insurance quotes in writing and bring them with you. If your house is at issue, have a payoff amount, a current value with you. Be sure to bring all financial documents that are relevant-especially if you are mediating before all finacial documents have been produced to the other side.
By far, the most important thing to bring to the table are your manners and your patience-Lots of each. The other side is usually scared of being fianncially unable to go forward and ususally they are trying to preserve their standard of living for themselves and/or their child. It's unreasonable to assume you both can have what you had together with two households to now consider. Don't waste time fighting over small things where your time is going to cost more than the item. Leave your spite and sense of self-rightsiousness at the door. This is a no-fault divorce state. Don't spend time arguing over who did what to whom. Legally, it doesn't matter. In the long run, it will serve you well to stay focused on the relevant factors, which are to determine what is in the marital pot and how to plit it up fairly and how to parent the children and provide for their needs post divorce. I've almost never been in a mediation that doesn't go well when both parties are being reasonable. The mediators and your attorneys are skilled in working with you to come up with a plan that will work for everyone. Keep this in mind. It's not about being right or wrong. It's about finding common ground. If children are involved, their needs have to come first. A few hours of preparation will likely result in a successful mediation. The emotional value of having matters resolved is invaluable for yourself and most importantly for your children who need stability.