A Guide to Divorce Mediation Checklists
What Categories do Mediation Checklists Contain?
A divorce mediation checklist will vary from state to state, but there are general provisions within every checklist. The categories can be different for court-ordered mediations and private mediations as well. A private divorce mediation checklist will often be shorter than a court-order mediation, but not always.
The general categories for a divorce mediation checklist are as follows:
• Division of Property
• Parenting Plan
• Child Support and Spousal Support
• Other Miscellaneous Financial Issues
Each of the categories listed above are extended below.
Division of Property
During mediation, each property must sign a contract that states they will offer full disclosure of property, assets, and debts. If either spouse breaks the contract, the case will often be brought to court a judge will not look kindly on the spouse’s actions of trying to conceal information. If a spouse conceals property, the other spouse will probably receive the better settlement. Some of the following things listed within the checklist for the division of property include:
1) Categories of Assets:
• Household furnishing
• Vehicles
• Personal Property
• Bank Accounts
• Accounts Receivable
• Stocks, Bonds, and Trusts
• Real Estate
• Life Insurance
• Business interests
• Pensions, IRAs, 401Ks, and more
2) Categories of Debts:
• Mortgages
• Loans on Life Insurance
• Personal Loans and Bank Loans
• Credit Card Statements
3) A procedure for the Division of Property, including:
• Identification of all property
• The valuation of all property
• Establishing Martial v. Non-Marital Property
• Dividing the Property
Parenting Plan
The parenting plan section of the divorce mediation check list will usually contain all of the following:
• Educational and medical records, teachers, and doctors of the children
• The decision making, notification, and legal consent for each spouse during a medical emergency
• Child’s living arrangements during the week, holidays, and vacations
• Pick-up and Drop-off arrangements
• Restrictions and notice for the change of residence
• Major decision by each parent on education, medical treatment, religion, and safety
• Conditions for renegotiations and conflict resolutions
Child Support and Spousal Support
A mediator will consider provisions usually accepted by a judge within the courtroom for spousal support and child support. The mediator will work with each spouse to come to an agreement, and the child support/spousal support checklist usually contains the following:
• The budgeting of the child’s expenses and each spouse’s expenses
• Identifying all sources of income
• Calculating support level, school tuition, medical expenses, child care expenses, and more
• The amount and duration of spousal support
• Adjustments for spousal support based on the cost of living and changing amounts of income
Miscellaneous Financial Issues
A divorce mediation checklist will almost always have a fourth category for any financial issues that weren’t covered in the checklist beforehand. These issues include:
• Joint or separate tax returns
• Dependency issues
• The division of refunds and liabilities
• College tuition and expenses
• Other insurance issues
