III. How does Mediation work?

• Each party is empowered to disclose the significant facts and circumstances related to the issues to be resolved. Mediation questionnaires are used to gather basic information to be supplemented with financial documents such as tax returns; checking, savings, investment and retirement accounts statements or personal financial disclosures agreed upon by the parties.

• Appraisals of assets of the parties may be used to the extent the parties agree and need to establish the value of their assets, owned before marriage and acquired during marriage.

• Attorneys generally review all agreements before they become final and both parties should consider legal counsel to advise them during mediation so there is a power balance and legal representation of each party’s interests.

• Depending upon when the parties approach mediation and the complexity of the issues, the parties decide if the attorneys need to be present during mediation.

Typically, mediation with Steven B. Schmidt is scheduled in 3-hour sessions, either from 9:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. or 1:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. to complete as much work as possible and to minimize the number of sessions. In less complicated cases, one session may only be necessary. In most cases 2 or 3 mediations are needed to resolve the issues. In low conflict cases, the issues may be resolved quickly, whereas high conflict and/or complicated cases may take several months for attorneys and appraisers to assemble all of the information needed for the parties to resolve their disagreements in mediation.
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