The parties meet with Mr. Walley in his law office, and discuss their issues, assets, and liabilities. Based on those initial discussions, the areas of agreement and of disagreement are identified. As to the agreed-upon items, Mr. Walley will advise the parties as to the appropriate next steps to take (e.g. divide bank accounts, change title to properties from joint tenancy to tenants in common, write up a custodial schedule, etc.).
As to the open issues, a process will be established to best deal with those, and ultimately to resolve them.
What are the fees and costs?
Due to the uncertainty of knowing how long the process will take and how many meetings it will take, Mr. Walley charges his time by the hour. His rate is dependent on the assets and issues involved.
How is confidentiality maintained?
All meetings are held in the privacy of Mr. Walley's office or conference room. Unlike the courtroom, no strangers are walking in and out, and there are no clerks or court reporters to listen in on your discussions and private matters. No recordings are made of the conversations. And, due to the laws relating to mediations, all discussions are privileged (meaning they are inadmissible in court) so anything said during mediation can never be revealed.
Once agreement is reached, what happens?
Mr. Walley and his staff prepare all necessary paperwork to be filed in court. Neither of you ever have to go to court as all of the processing is done by Mr. Walley.
If agreement is not reached, what happens?
By law, Mr. Walley, once he has acted as your mediator, cannot act as the attorney for either of you. Therefore, if one or more issues are not resolved, the parties will each need to retain their own attorney or will need to act as their own attorney (not recommended).
