Category: The Mediation Center

Health Care coverage is a big topic these days. The Affordable Care Act brings many changes along with it to the health care industry and to us as consumers. Just what the affects of the Act will be are unknown. There are many issues associated with Affordable Care that have us wondering what will happen in the future and how will coverage, billing and carriers change. There are families out there that rely on plans such as Medicare and Medi-cal (visit iehp.org to find out more) so they can get treated without getting into extreme debt from no insurance due to low income, so they want to be assured that they will be protected with any changes that may happen.

One of the topics covered in mediation when a couple is separating and divorcing is the issue of health care coverage. How the coverage and associated costs will be handled for children and for the spouses are important things to discuss and have defined in any agreement (will the child/children be covered my Mom or Dad’s insurance and what portion of the costs is each parent covering). This can be a huge expense and needs to be discussed and decided upon and is not necessarily covered with child support payments.

In most cases, spouses who are legally separated can still be covered by a spouses employers insurance. But be sure to check with your employer to be sure that is the case. Once a divorce is finalized, spouses can no longer be covered on each other’s health insurance plans.

For any questions regarding this topic or any others related to separation or divorce, please call me at 585-269-8140.

From the Dale Carnegie Coaches Corner:

12 Tips for Negotiating and Compromising with Difficult People

Negotiating is the process of attempting to agree on a solution. Compromising, or settling on a mutually agreeable solution, is the result of successful negotiations. Compromise is all about being flexible. It means being able to generate alternate solutions when you’ve “hit the wall.” Whether it involves a person you can’t get along with, an idea you know will work but that others are reluctant to agree to, a change in office systems, or a turf war that needs ending, learning to negotiate and compromise is essential to your success.”

12 tips to help with the process:

1. Have a positive attitude.  
2. Meet on mutual ground.  
3. Clearly define and agree on the issue.  
4. Do your homework.  
5. Take an honest inventory of yourself.  
6. Look for shared interests.  
7. Deal with facts, not emotions.  
8. Be honest.  
9. Present alternatives and provide evidence.  
10. Be an expert communicator.  
11. End on a good note.  
12. Enjoy the process. 

To read Dale Carnegie’s full article please go to: http://www.dalecarnegie.com/eblast/the_coachs_corner_m44w3/?keycode=LNTipCal12.12&franchisee=207000

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A very important point for mediators to remember when preparing a memorandum of understanding is that under New York State law, a presumption is created that that many designations made during a marriage are revoked upon a divorce.  Often times, a spouse will desire to have his or her ex-spouse continue to be the beneficiary on an insurance policy or a retirement asset.  Sometimes a spouse will desire their ex-spouse continue as his or her health care agent, or executor or executrix of his or her will.  In all these situations, the presumption is the designation fails upon divorce.  In order to disprove the presumption, the designation must be remade post-divorce or the designation must be included in the judgment of divorce.  A reminder  in the memorandum of understanding that the parties should talk to their attorneys about remaking the designation or including the designation in their judgment of divorce, could help your clients achieve their desired outcome.

Making the decision to divorce is a difficult one, particularly if you still care about your partner. You may be tempted to try to soften the blow of your decision by offering some hope of reconciliation. While it seems harmless, if such a possibility is not likely, it can actually cause more pain for your partner.

It is perfectly alright to share with your partner how painful this decision is and your continued care for him or her, but it is also vital that you are honest about your resolution to end the relationship. Offering to “try out” a separation when you know in your heart that you do not want to reconcile gives your partner the belief that there is something she or he can do to fix the problems in the relationship. Your partner deserves the dignity of responding to the reality of the situation and the opportunity to grieve.

If you really are ambivalent about whether or not the marriage is over, our mediators can help you and spouse have an honest conversation to discern what next steps you would like to take. If you need couples counseling, we can make a referral. If there are specific issues within the relationship you want to work on, relationship mediation may be an option. And if you do wish to go forward with a legal separation or divorce, mediation offers a dignified approach that allows you and your spouse to retain control of the decisions that will affect your family.

Rushing through the many decisions that need to be in your settlement agreement when you are separating or divorcing, is never a good idea.

People divorcing or separating are in crisis. Whether you are aware of it or not, you are going through a loss and must give yourself time to adjust to this huge life change. Even if you are the one initiating the split, you need to take the time to make thoughtful and considered decisions. The decisions you make in your Settlement Agreement, whether you are seeking a legal separation or a divorce, are lasting. Once these decisions are made and filed by an attorney, changes are very difficult to make. You need to be as sure as you can when making these decisions that will affect your future.

In mediation, YOU set the pace of the process. You must decide many things including: parenting decisions (if you have children); equitable distribution of assets and liabilities; and any support issues, both child and spousal. You can take the time you need to make the right decisions for your family.

You are also in control of the decisions that are being made in mediation, rather than an attorney or judge. Mediation gives you the ability to make customized agreements that suit your situation best.

Mediators are trained conflict resolution specialist who facilitate conversations as neutral third parties, providing you the information you need to make good/informed decisions. This empowers you and your spouse throughout the process. You decide what decisions get made and how those decisions are applied to your specific situation.

For more information call: 585-269-8140 or email [email protected]

Once again, the Mediation Center is helping out.

We have donated refreshments, bags to be auctioned, raffle items, and even a bartender to  NeighborWorks® Rochester for its auction tomorrow afternoon/evening.

NeighborWorks® Rochester is auctioning off themed tote bags full of goodies! Each bag offers a great group of items for you to bid on. To see what they have to offer, visit www.32auctions.com/ourbagsroc or keep an eye out for the  bags around the city. The auction runs through June 7th and culminates with a Happy Hour from 4-7 at the Neighborworks Rochester building @ 570 South Ave that will offer chances for final bidding, complimentary food, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, and a raffle.

Join us as we celebrate with the folks at NeighborWorks® Rochester!

All proceeds benefit NeighborWorks® Rochester which creates sustainable communities by providing services to support individuals and families with purchasing a home or improve an existing home. NeighborWorks Rochester offers education and grants for home purchase, loans and grants for home improvement, energy efficiency audits and improvements, and lead paint inspections throughout Monroe County. For more information, please call 585-325-4170.

Sometimes couples come to us in a situation where both parties are unhappy with certain elements of their marriage. They don’t want to continue the relationship as it is now, but they really don’t want a separation or divorce.

Marital mediation can be an invaluable tool in reaching mutually acceptable agreements on how a couple will handle targeted areas in the relationship. The neutral mediator helps you both have meaningful and often enlightening conversations about your needs and expectations around problem issues. The mediation is specifically focused on defining these areas of conflict and changing how you interact when dealing with them, setting goals and establishing agreed to processes to meet your needs.

Some examples of issues that couples have mediated are: how money is spent, setting boundaries for children, and balancing responsibilities around the home, as well as many others. There have also been mediated situations where one spouse wants to give information to the other spouse, but is uncomfortable doing it without being in a supportive environment. One example of this might be that one spouse has run up a large amount of debt that the other spouse is unaware of. In the mediation setting, the disclosure of information can be followed up with decisions and agreements on how the couple will deal with the issue for the future. You come up with a plan that works best for both of you.

While the Marital Mediation process allows couples to express their values and goals around topics that are areas of conflict, it is unlike therapy in that it is future focused – it does not seek to go back and deal with the past, or assign responsibility for how these conflicts arose, and lasts only a few sessions. This is not therapy. For therapy, you should seek the help of a licensed therapist/Mental Health professional. Mediation helps people to negotiate difficult situations, communicate and come up with new tools and plans for the future.

Any relationship has areas that take hard work to maintain, and most relationships are worth the effort. If you are interested in giving marital mediation a try, you can set up an initial, no commitment consultation. Please call: 585-269-8140.

There are times when couples choose to own real estate together even though they are divorcing.  Usually it is the marital residence which they chose to keep.  It is important that they understand some basic real estate issues in order to make decisions on how they should own the property in order to meet their expectations if one of them die while the property is jointly owned.

In New York State, the majority of married couples own their homes as Tenants by the Entirety.  To create a tenancy by the entirety, the deed transferring the property to a married couple must name them as Tom Doe and Natasha Doe, “husband and wife”, or “tenants by the entirety”, or even “his wife”.  Once the tenancy by the entirety is created, if one spouse dies, the other spouse is automatically the owner of the entire property.  Even if the magical words are missing, it presumed a married couple owns a property as tenants by the entirety.

The important fact to remember is that only a married couple can own property as tenants by the entirety.  Once the divorce is finalized, the tenancy by the entirety is dissolved.  Under New York State law, unless other steps are taken, the divorced couple becomes Tenants in Common.  The consequences are significant.  Tenants in Common each have a percentage ownership in the property.   Either owner can transfer his or her share to a third party.  No permission from the other owner is needed.  Absent an agreement to the contrary, either tenant in common is entitled to live in the property.  There is basically no requirement that costs to maintain the property be shared and there is definitely no requirement the costs of improving the property be shared. Equally as problematic is that upon the death of one owner, their percentage share goes through their estate.  Either their will or if no will exists, the laws of intestate succession dictate who will become the new Tenant in Common.  The horror story most often told is when the first wife and husband own the marital residence as tenants in common and then years later, the husband dies leaving his entire worldly estate to his new wife.  The result is his two wives now own the first wife’s home as Tenants in Common. While I have yet to meet someone who actually had clients involved in this scenario, the story could easily be true.

The parties may choose different options to address the problem of Tenancy by the Entirety converting to a Tenancy in Common.  The memorandum of understanding should set forth the intention of the parties and their course of action to achieve their desired outcome.  One choice is to have the deceased spouse’s share to go to a specific party or group.  Some examples are the couples’ children, their grandchildren, or someone else both owners desire to have a share in the ownership of the property.  Another choice is to have the deceased spouse’s share go to the surviving spouse.  This option can be secured through an agreement that each spouse will prepare a will which sets forth the required alternative.  Many attorneys prefer another solution. They have the parties deed the property to themselves as Joint Tenants with Rights of Survivorship.  This type of ownership functions just like the Tenancy by the Entirety but without the requirement the parties be husband and wife.  The new deed will list the parties   “as joint tenants with rights of survivorship”.  From that point on, if one party dies, the other party owns the entire property.

While the couple can do the research to determine the options they believe they should pursue, it is important they discuss with their attorneys and their accountants to be sure they fully understand their choices and then to be sure they complete whatever option they choose correctly to avoid problems in the future.