Preparing for your domestic or custody mediation

Mediation can help parties resolve disputes about most subjects that would otherwise be decided by a judge or magistrate in family court.

To make the most of your mediation session time, it is important to properly prepare. If you have an attorney, your attorney may prepare a background statement for the mediator to review.  If you do not have any attorney and/or if your attorney does not think it is necessary to prepare a background statement, there are still a few other things you can do to prepare. 

The Ohio Supreme Court has standardized financial and property affidavits that help gather information about income, budgets, and (in the case of a marriage termination) assets and debts.

Completing as much of those documents as possible before the session will help the mediation process proceed more efficiently.  

With regard to children, it is helpful to bring in some notes about current parenting time schedules; current holiday traditions/ recurring family events; general information about schedules for children's events/ activities; and any information about issues you believe will become important during the negotiations.  (For example, if you and the other parents have upcoming decisions about which preschool to choose for your child, it may be helpful to bring information about some schools you have researched.)

During the intake process, your mediator will conduct the required domestic violence screening and gather basic information about your case.  The mediator may assign homework to bring to the first session if she believes that doing so would make the process more efficient.

Below is more information about domestic mediations.