expectations.

Family Circle offers a free initial 30-minute consultation with all parties to discuss any questions they may have about the process. Contact us to set up this consultation.

All sessions will be held privately and confidentially over Microsoft Teams. To ensure this, everyone will be expected show each other respect and not have anyone else in the room without the other party’s permission. Children should not be within earshot of the mediation sessions or consult.

Mediation sessions will be one hour at a time. The speed of the mediation process will be up to the parties involved and how often they would like to meet. Payment is expected at the end of each session via Venmo, PayPal, or Zelle. 

A summary will be provided after each meeting, outlining issues discussed, agreements made, if any documents or ‘homework’ will be required for the next meeting, and to confirm the time/date of the next session.

Documents are expected to be emailed to each party prior to the meeting. Documents can be important to ensure trust, clarity, and accuracy when discussing finances and parenting time. Family Circle wants to ensure everyone can leave mediation feeling secure in their new future. Some examples of documents you can expect to bring are paystubs, bank/credit card statements, budgets, tax returns, and children’s school and extracurricular activity schedules.

After an agreement has been reached on all required topics, the mediator will draft a detailed Separation Agreement/Stipulation to be brought to a local attorney for filing. The attorney’s role will be determined by county requirements. Alternatively, some clients may be eligible to file DIY on the courts’ website.