Judges presiding over family law matters often have years of experience helping couples divide their property and address other issues. Still, when families have complex or unusual assets, judges may need to get creative in order to find a reasonable way to split up that property.
They might give one spouse far more assets than the other or order the sale of property that the spouses have emotional attachments to, decisions which will be hard to challenge after the divorce. If you worry about how the courts will dispose of your more complex property, it might be worth considering mediation in your upcoming divorce proceedings.
Mediation gives you the flexibility to push for the terms you want
In a contested divorce filing, the judge is the one with the authority to make all the major decisions. You and your ex do not have much say unless you have a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement to guide the process.
Divorce mediation gives control back to the divorcing couple by allowing them to set all of their own terms. If the two of you reach an agreement in mediation about how to split your property, you can then file for uncontested divorce proceedings that are usually faster and more affordable than a litigated divorce.
More importantly, you will retain control over the distribution of all your property. The two of you can reach any agreement that both of you approve of, provided that it does not violate the law. The judge will only have to review and approve your agreement.
The more strongly you feel about certain property, the more value there may be to pursuing an uncontested divorce filing, possibly through mediation or direct negotiation between your attorney and your spouse’s lawyer.
