Negotiation
If mediation is not an option, we can attempt to resolve the issues through a negotiation process. This may take the form of meetings with your spouse and their lawyer or simply by communicating via letters and phone calls.
It is extremely important to make every possible effort to resolve your issues through negotiation before resorting to litigation as it reduces the cost significantly and it allows you to reach solutions without having solutions imposed on you by a court.
Usually, during the negotiation process, you will be able to resolve all of the issues but if you are not able to do this you will probably be able to resolve most of the issues leaving only a few unresolved issues to be determined by the court.