Parenting agreements: we will discuss your options about legal custody and how you will make important decisions regarding your children. I will help you create a schedule of the times that each of you will spend with your children, how you will share the holidays and other special days, as well as vacation and travel time that each of you will have with your children.

Child Support from the early years through the college years, Spousal Support, Health Insurance and other specific issues relating to your individual family situation.

 

During the divorce process, you will both decide whether to share, keep or sell your art collection. If you are an art dealer and own your own business, an analysis will have to be made to determine your spouse’s interest in the business.

In either situation, you may need to have appraisals done and sometimes determine what those appraisals really mean when it comes to selling a work of art. Art markets are, as you may know, unlike any other type of business.

In the mediation room, I can help you brainstorm so you can make decisions that feel fair to each of you in regards to your art collection/business.

There are times that even though a full parenting agreement was made in view of your divorce, children grow, your personal circumstances change and you may find that what worked then no longer works now. We will examine all those issues and create a new agreement.

Mediation will help  explore where each of you is coming from, what the needs and priorities are  for each of you and how to best structure the budget to be able to move forward with a better understanding of all of the family’s needs. We will work with very detailed budget forms which I can make available to each of you.

In many circumstances, there is a need to work out a pre-nup which may include what will happen to property that each party brings with them into the marriage in the case of a break up. A pre nup may also include any decisions made by the 2 parties regarding their future, during the marriage or in the case of an unfortunate break up.

At times, people decide to have post nups drawn up once they are married which will cover decisions made by the parties regarding their present or future financial situation as well as any decisions they would want to see in writing on issues that are important to them.

Mediation can help with those disagreements and put in place better options for all those involved. Mediation can also help several members of a family work out issues following the death of a parent. A conversation between the different parties may uncover concerns and issues which were never divulged  prior to the death of a parent and help the different parties get a better understanding of where each one was coming from, therefore allowing for a better relationship going forward and dealing with what is left after the person is gone.

In some cases, adult children are brought in by parents prior to their death to discuss sharing their belongings. This well intended proposal can create some differences that may be worked out as well in mediation.

These tensions may evolve around homework, curfews, responsibilities within the home, usage of allowances to name only a few. Mediation can give space for all the parties concerned to have a voice and help you work out an agreement where each person feels that he/she is being heard and taken into account.

Children grow, families change, parents may remarry and create another family, a multitude of situations created by life circumstances which can affect your initial parenting agreement. I will help you revisit and work out a plan that may be more adapted to the changing needs of every one.

Other disputes may arise on the money available and shared for child support and other expenses regarding the children. Here again we can look at the whole picture together and try and understand what is causing the problem and how you can both work this out to make it easier for you and your children.

In mediation these can be discussed hearing each person’s point of view and clarifying the needs for all involved. Once an agreement is made, having it in writing and notarized can be reassuring to the different parties.