Oregon Divorce Mediation Process Components with Matthew House, J.D.
Divorce is two things at once -- a human experience with concerns, goals, emotions, and questions; and a court-connected event with legal, financial, and technical details to address carefully. Portland mediator Matthew House understands the personal and practical aspects of divorce; he is both thoughtful and thorough. Matthew will encourage you to view each component of a divorce through that holistic lens.
After the consultation, the process can be done in any order. Some of components apply to all cases; others depend on the circumstances.
After the consultation, the process can be done in any order. Some of components apply to all cases; others depend on the circumstances.
Income Analysis and Budget Development
- Income is relevant in every case. It is the basis of determining spousal support and child support, but it also matters even when there are no minor children and the spouses agree that no spousal support should be exchanged.
- A detailed budget is a necessary component of any case involving child support and/or spousal support. A basic budget is necessary even if there are no minor children and it is agreed that no spousal support will be exchanged.
Asset Division (Property Division) and Debt Division
- Matthew will help you understand and make decisions about the extent of your marital assets, including the ownership status and the valuation, which may vary depending on the type of asset.
- As with assets, you will also disclose all of your debts. A plan to assign responsibility for each debt will be included in your Marital Settlement Agreement.
- Credit is a topic many people don't think much about during the marriage, but it becomes a much bigger issue during and after divorce, for reasons that Matthew will explain during mediation. You will have decisions to make in mediation concerning your post-divorce debt and credit.
Child Custody (Legal Custody) & Parenting Time (Physical Custody)
- Child custody involves agreeing on a detailed collaborative plan for decision-making for the children.
- A parenting plan is the parenting time schedule, exceptions to that schedule, a framework for collaborating as co-parents, and any other stipulations you wish to include.
Child Support for Minor Children and Adult Children Attending School (age 18-20)
- Completing the child support worksheet for minor children and, if both parties agree, modifying it to suit your preferences and supplementing it to include expenses that cash child support is not meant to encompass on its own.
- Details of financial support for adult children who attend (or will attend) college or vocational training.
Spousal Support
- Determining the amount of spousal support to be exchanged, if any, for each of the three types of spousal support that Oregon law has established: Compensatory (very uncommon); Transitional; and Maintenance
Tax Matters
- You will probably need to change your tax filing status after divorce. Matthew will help you understand your options and obligations.
- You will need to allocate the dependency exemptions for the children, which Matthew will assist you in doing.
- Other aspects of the mediation process have tax implications to discuss as well, such as income taxes, capital gains taxes on the sale of property, and Social Security benefits.
Post-Mediation Documents and Forms
- Matthew will draft the Marital Settlement Agreement, which includes all of the decisions you have made in mediation.
- After the Marital Settlement Agreement has been revised and you approve the final version, Matthew will refer you to a trusted paralegal to pare your divorce forms and file them electronically with the court on your behalf.
Post-Divorce Process
- After the divorce is final, there may be certain forms to file and documents to execute, to complete the division of your assets.
- Post-divorce forms and processes will depend on the decisions you've made in mediation and the steps necessary to follow up.
- You will need to make certain changes to various insurance policies that you may have had prior to the divorce process.
- There may be new forms of insurance, such as life insurance, that you will need to procure or change depending on the agreements you reach in mediation.
The specific components of the mediation process are outlined in more detail in each respective subsection of the Topics to Address section.