If you and your spouse are considering a divorce, or if you have already decided that you’re going to split up, you probably realize that many issues will need to be resolved. For those with children, the main concerns are usually where the kids will live, how much time they will spend with each parent, and whether (and how much) child support will be paid.
Other questions arise regarding marital assets and liabilities: What will you do about the house, bank accounts and retirement accounts? How will you divide your personal belongings? Who will be responsible for the joint credit card debt? And what about alimony? If there is a disparity between the spouse’s respective incomes, then alimony could easily be part of the discussion.
Some couples will have an easier time deciding these issues than others. Many divorces only have a few highly contentious issues that cannot be resolved amicably. This is just one of the reasons why mediation is so helpful – even if it doesn’t completely resolve all of the issues in a divorce, it can narrow them down significantly. This reduces the cost of any litigation that may unfortunately prove to be necessary.