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When a divorce is “contested”, this means that both parties aren’t in agreement over issues related to their divorce, such as property allotment, asset distribution, child custody, child support, spousal support etc. When a divorce is uncontested, this means that both parties are in full agreement regarding these issues. Although rare, this can make for an amicable divorce. There may be a stigma that Divorce Mediation is only designed for contested divorces. But couples who are fully uncontested greatly benefit from Divorce Mediation too.

At Suffolk County Divorce Mediation Center, we’ll review the agreements you’ve made thus far to ensure that they encompass contingencies for all potential circumstances that may arrive in the future. Many couples don’t plan for certain changes that may occur in their lives post-divorce. We pride ourselves on our experience in solving divorce related challenges and coming up with divorce settlement agreements that take all potential circumstances into account, ensuring our clients’ comfort and ease with their final agreement.

Many parents may feel that joint custody is best for their children. Our Suffolk County Divorce Mediators can facilitate cooperative communication regarding child custody and visitation. A parenting agreement should be made with stipulations for potential changes (ie., holiday schedules, emergencies, etc.) that meets your child’s best interests. Some factors that may play into a parenting agreement are as follows:

• Each parent’s ability to meet their children’s needs
• The children’s relationships with siblings of each party’s family
• Who the primary caregiver of the child is (the parent who primarily feeds the child, takes them to school, the doctor, extracurricular activities, etc.)
• The physical and mental health of both parents
• The amount of time each parent has in their schedule to spend with their children
• What the children want most, depending on their maturity level/age
• Each parent’s ability to positively cooperate with each other on the parenting plan with their children’s best interests in mind

When sought, spousal support is many times a highly-contested issue. In the throes of divorce, resentment may be prominent. The thought of monetarily supporting your soon-to-be ex-spouse may be the last thing you want to even consider, whether it’s permanent or short-term. A mediator may facilitate cooperative conversation to bring about an understanding of why spousal support is being sought. If both parties are in agreement that spousal support is necessary, a mediator’s role then becomes informing both parties on the Maintenance Guidelines Law. There’s a legal standard stating that each spouse should live a post-divorce lifestyle that is “not overly disproportionate to that which they enjoyed during the marriage.” Based on these Guidelines, a Divorce Mediator will facilitate cooperative conversation between both parties on what is a fair agreement on spousal support.

Child support in a mediated divorce works much like spousal support does. Most parents will agree that their children’s wellbeing is paramount, and having financial support is a key aspect in both their wellbeing as well as their upbringing. If you’re willing to work together, your Suffolk County Divorce Mediator can inform you on how a judge would determine your post-divorce child support given each other’s financial statuses and based on the Child Support Standards Act. From there, you and your soon-to-be ex-spouse can make an informed decision on how you want to handle child support. It’s entirely up to the both of you how child support should be handled.