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Single Parents
mamastich
member
Single mama - beautiful baby - learning to live
Mediation tomorrow!
mamastich
member
We have our mediation tomorrow, STBXH is supposed to phone in but Im not counting on it. If he does I might die a little. Hes on the other side of the country.
What should I expect? I dont have a lawyer, is there anything I need to bring? Do I say what I want to CS? anything would be amazing right now.
Single mama - beautiful baby - learning to liveThis discussion has been closed.
Re: Mediation tomorrow!
Everyone seems to have a different approach to mediation. I thought mine was pretty successful. I went in with 3 lists - the must haves, the wants, and the things I was willing to agree to what X wanted.The way our mediation worked is we each separately told the mediator what we wanted and worked from there. I handed her the list I made and she used that as a starting point.
We already had a temp order for child support so I didn't have to ask about it. My state has a child support calculator / formula so there wasn't anything to discuss there. You just plug in the numbers and you get the amount of child support. The only issue would have been if one of us accused the other of forging documents or something (which we both knew wasn't the case).
Good luck in mediation!
QUICK HIJACK.
In Texas, it's completely different. Lawyers handle visitation, however child support is done by the Attorney General and the Attorney General only. You may be able to reach an agreement through mediation, but the AG rep has to OK it and recommend it to the judge. Who, again, may read over it and go....NO.
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS. Don't get talked into a lower amount. In Texas, the min for one child is 20% of income after Medicare and Federal witholding at Single/1. He will also have to pay medical insurance or reimburse you. It's my experience you should ALWAYS go for reimbursement. Then you know your child has insurance. Back child support will also be determined and applied if there's cause. If you were separated before the child was born, he will be responsible for HALF of your medical costs. Oh, and Texas is one of the few states where child support is wage garnishment ONLY.
Here is the link to the Child Support Division of the Texas OAG.
https://www.oag.state.tx.us/cs/index.shtml
Oh thank you for the info! DD isn't here yet, but I want to know what to do when the time comes to set all of this up. I have read both of us must sign the AOP before she is born if I want his name on her birth certificate. Other than that, I really don't know what to do.
Nothing may have happened, but it will be noted, and it WILL affect the final outcome. That works in your favor BIG time. DD's father got two chances to show up at court before they just gave me whatever I asked for.