by Anthony C. Adamopoulos, Divorce Mediator and Collaborative Attorney

You, usually, do not need an attorney or Financial Neutral at all mediation sessions when there are three or less issues and no issue of credibility of income or property reporting.

But, in two situations you need help.

First, you need help when the issues include credibility of income or property disclosure.

Second, you need help when there are too many issues, including honesty about income and/or property but your spouse insists on using mediation.

If either of these situations exist, you need to protect yourself by getting the facts.

One way is to have an experienced divorce attorney ask the important questions that will satisfy your concerns about credibility.

The alternative is to insist on the mediation process involving a Divorce Financial Neutral. Neutrals know the questions to ask and the information to get.

How do you know when you need help?

If any of the following situations exist, you probably need an experienced attorney or a neutral.

1. If your spouse is a high paid employee and you do not know:

• The number or kind of perks spouse gets.
• Any specifics about spouse’s pay, including bonus.
• Any specifics about how spouse gets company stock.

 

2. If your spouse is a self-employed high earner and you do not know:

• How much your spouse earns.
• If the business is paying for the phones or motor vehicles you and/or spouse use.
• The first thing about running the business if spouse dies.
• The names of spouse’s accountant and lawyer.
• Why spouse carries a roll of cash to pay for things and to give you cash for your expenses.
• What type of legal entity the business is, for example is it a sole proprietorship? or a corporation? or something else?
• Whether you can trust your spouse to have the business fairly and competently appraised.

 

3. If your spouse signs your name to the tax returns or tells you “just sign here” no need to read them.

 

4. If your spouse does not want “to use lawyers” for the divorce process.

 

5. Hypothetically, if you were asked to provide information showing:

• all of the weekly income and weekly expenses of each of you; and
• all of the property owned by each of you; and
• all of the debt of each of you,

and you don’t know this information.

Remember, the divorce mediator is a neutral party who has the main responsibility of getting the two of you to agree on a divorce settlement agreement.

Your main responsibility is to be sure the mediator has all the important facts.

Learn more by contacting me, now.

©2020 Anthony C. Adamopoulos