I have to agree with Adam G. from 8/22 in that mediation with Carey Hyatt is a complete waste of time as I also incurred substantial expense due to an error SHE made in our final Decree document. And, when presented with it just a few weeks later, she refused to take responsibility for it or amend her own mistake.
After our long, grueling mediation day via Zoom, she assured me that the deal she mediated was the best I could hope for and that if I didn't sign that evening, my spouse could change his mind and take everything back off the table. Feeling pressured, I signed. We had agreed to an even split of assets (36 year marriage) plus a decent amount of spousal maintenance. Before finalizing our Decree, she had created and sent each of us her detailed asset list showing a summary of every calculation on each side of the ledger. We both approved. However, her final document FAILED to include my equity portion of our residences in the narrative (although it was shown in her own asset division list). It was only a few weeks later that I realized she had not included the same figures as agreed to.
When I attempted to address this gross oversight with her, she sent an abrupt response that the agreement stood as written and that if I wanted to address anything about it, I should take it up with my husband. We had already paid in full and so she washed her hands of our situation! This prolonged our divorce by 9 more months as my husband fought the original agreement, feigning ignorance of those figures. In the end, there was substantial expense for two attorneys and I ended up receiving less than an even split of our assets and none of the agreed-upon spousal maintenance. A tough lesson to learn, however, it's disappointing to be stonewalled by Judge Hyatt when clear proof exists of the original intent of the agreement.
It's been close to a year and I'm still flabbergasted that an experienced judge could ignore her own negligence in her own court document. In my opinion, she is unethical and extremely unprofessional, to say nothing of her carelessness and blatant refusal to accept responsibility in her duty as a mediator. Do yourself a favor and find someone else to mediate for you!! read more