Tried mediation instead of lawyers for the property split

Mediation cost me $800 total. Lawyer route was going to be $5,000 plus. Has anyone else found a cheaper way to divide things up?

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3 Comments

the_oliver3mo ago

Mediation is the way to go for sure. I did the Exact same thing when my ex and I split our house. We each paid our own mediator $400 and sat down for two sessions. Ended up with a fair split on the furniture and a clean agreement on who pays what utilities until the house sells. One tip - write down everything you both agree on in the moment. We forgot a few small things and had to do a quick follow up call for $50 extra. Way better than dragging lawyers into a fight over a old couch or a set of dishes.

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brooket433mo ago

@the_oliver you're Totally right about writing stuff down right away. My ex and I forgot to mention who gets the Christmas decorations and it turned into this whole stupid thing later. That $50 follow up call sounds way better than what we paid our lawyers for a single email. Seriously, mediation is the move if you can keep your cool for an hour or two. Forcing it into one session is key though, the longer you drag it out the more it costs.

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danielm803mo ago

Man that $800 sounds like a steal compared to what lawyers wanted from you. Did the mediator help you keep things civil too or was it still kinda tense? I've heard horror stories about people dropping thousands just to fight over a coffee table.

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