WILLIAM J. LEININGER, PC, INC.

FACTS ABOUT DIVORCE MEDIATION

People do not get married to get divorced. As a result, your divorce represents a great disappointment to you. In fact, it is this disappointment, and the hurt, anger, fear, and sometimes sense of betrayal that you are struggling with, that makes divorce so difficult. It is for this reason that, next to the death of a child or someone else extremely close, divorce is probably the most difficult crisis that you will experience in your entire life. Until recently, couples wishing to separate or divorce almost invariably turned to separate attorneys to represent them and to negotiate an agreement for them. In recent years, there has arisen an alternative to adversarial divorce proceedings. It is called divorce Mediation, and as separating and divorcing couples have increasingly found, it can be a far better way for many to resolve their differences.

WHAT IS DIVORCE MEDIATION?

Divorce mediation, quite simply, is a procedure designed to assist separating and divorcing couples to reach an agreement between themselves, privately and informally. It employs the skills of a neutral, third-party (called a mediator) to assist you in arriving at an agreement by providing you with the necessary information, clarifying issues, exploring alternative solutions, and suggesting possible compromises. Most importantly, this professional will ensure that each of you is given an adequate opportunity to express your views, thereby assuring that your interests are properly recognized. In mediation, the discussions usually proceed quickly and an agreement is normally concluded in but a matter of weeks. For this reason, divorce mediation is usually less expensive than traditional divorce proceedings. Cost is simply a function of time. The less time it takes, the less costly it will be. Time, cost, and emotional considerations – these are the principal reasons why separating and divorcing couples are increasingly turning to mediation.

WHO ACTUALLY MEDIATES THE DISPUTE BETWEEN THE PARTIES IN OUR OFFICE?

It is a cardinal principle of divorce mediation that separating and divorcing couples are faced with complex personal problems as well as legal questions. At our firm, divorce mediation is conducted by William J. Leininger, M.A., J.D. Mr. Leininger has been practicing Family Law for over 40 years and has lectured on divorce and related issues and has appeared on such national television shows as the CBS Morning Show, the NBC Today Show, Phil Donahue Show, Sally Jessy Raphael Show, etc. Mr. Leininger received his Divorce Mediation training at the Center for Family and Divorce Mediation in New York City. He is a Founding Member of the Academy of Family Mediators, a national association of Family Law Mediators who subscribe to a strict set of professional standards. Mr. Leininger is certified by the Florida Supreme Court as a Family Mediator.

WILL I BE GIVEN INFORMATION ABOUT THE LAW AND WHAT MY AGREEMENT SHOULD CONTAIN?

Mediation is not simply a procedure to assist the two of you to conclude an agreement. It is a process that will help the two of you make informed, intelligent decisions to the end that you are left with an agreement that both of you will be able to live with. At the commencement of the mediation, you will be given a great deal of verbal and written information to assist you. This material will provide you with information about the divorce law of the State of Florida – the Equitable DistributionLaw, the child support guidelines, parenting issues, etc. All of this is done to ensure that you will be able to participate in the discussions intelligently and knowledgeably.

WHAT SUBJECTS WILL BE DISCUSSED IN MY MEDIATION?

In Mediation our clients decide four main settlement areas: parenting arrangements (including custody) for minor children; division of marital property and marital debts; spousal support and child support. The tax consequences of these decisions will also be considered and should be reviewed by an independent tax expert.

WILL THE AGREEMENT THAT IS CONCLUDED IN MEDIATION BE A FAIR ONE?

In mediation, every effort is made to conclude an agreement that is fair to both of you, and that each of you can live with. For if it is not fair, it is unlikely to be honored, and will therefore be of no value to either of you. Additionally, a mediator has no power to bind you, and unless an agreement is reached which you feel is acceptable, you will not sign it.

WILL THERE BE FULL DISCLOSURE IN MEDIATION?

In contrast to traditional divorce proceedings – where the parties meet privately with their attorneys, and where all disclosures are kept secret and confidential – in mediation, all discussions take place with both of you present unless you both grant me permission to talk privately with each of you if I believe that this will help solve a logjam which has developed. That means that “openness” and “honesty” are encouraged. Moreover, each of you will be required to provide the other with whatever information either of you considers necessary. Finally, both of you will complete a detailed list of ofthe income and assets and a representation that this information is complete and accurate.

WILL MEDIATION RESULT IN A LEGALLY BINDING AGREEMENT?

Once all of the outstanding issues have been resolved, and a tentative agreement concluded between you, we will reduce that understanding to a written Marital Settlement Agreement. You will be given an opportunity to show the proposed agreement to an attorney of your own choice prior to signing it. Once the two of you have had an opportunity to consult with legal counsel, if they wish to do so, and you both are satisfied with the proposed agreement, it will then be signed by both of you.

IF WE ARE SEPARATING BECAUSE WE CAN’T GET ALONG, OR COMMUNICATE WITH ONE ANOTHER, HOW WILL WE BE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN MEDIATION?

The hurt and disappointment that married couples feel at the time of their separation obviously makes communication between them difficult. But it does not make communication impossible – it only makes it impossible for them to do it alone. As couples are increasingly learning in mediation, they really can discuss these issues intelligently between themselves – if they are only given the right setting and the assistance of trained professionals to help them where they have difficulty. It is exactly this setting and this professional help that mediation offers.

WHAT IF ONE OF US WANTS A DIVORCE AND THE OTHER DOESN’T? HOW CAN MEDIATION HELP?

It is quite possible (and this is very often the case) that one of you does not want the separation or divorce. This does not mean that there will not be a divorce, however. It only means that it may well be a bitter or costly one. Part of our job is to bring home this fact. If you are having difficulty with the separation, you have a choice – you can learn to accept it and participate in the discussions, as difficult as that may be, or you can refuse to do this and force proceedings which you really do not want and which you may not be able to afford. It is this kind of help that a Divorce Mediator can constructively provide. And it is this kind of pain that we can help you avoid.

WOULDN’T I BE BETTER OFF IF I HAD A LAWYER TO FIGHT FOR ME AND TO PROTECT MY INTERESTS?

As Derek Bork, the former Dean of Harvard Law School, recently observed, “Lawyers do not add to the size of the pie, they simply fight over how to divide it”. Thus, if you hire a lawyer to fight for you, you will not come away with a bigger pie. You will not even necessarily come away with a bigger piece of the pie. On the contrary, if you both hire lawyers to fight for you, the only thing that you are guaranteed to get is a good fight. It is usually not in your best interests, and certainly not in the best interests of your children, to have such a fight. Rather, it is in your very best interest to conclude an agreement that is fair to both of you without lengthy and expensive matrimonial litigation.

WHY IS MEDIATION BEING USED BY MORE AND MORE SEPARATING AND DIVORCING COUPLES?

As couples have increasingly come to realize, while divorce may end their marriage, it does not necessarily end their family. Rather, they will need to do business together, often for years to come. (It is for this same reason that mediation is so popular in resolving disputes between labor and management.) Thus, it is not only important to resolve the dispute between the two of you, but it is also important to resolve it in a way that will leave you able to work with one another (and cooperate with one another) in the future.

WHY IS ONLINE DIVORCE MEDIATION BETTER THAN TRADITIONAL DIVORCE MEDIATION?

The online component of Online Divorce Mediation offers couples the ability to conduct mediation sessions via video conference rather than having to drive into the lawyer's office or meet their spouse face to face. They can schedule sessions according to their own timetable. They can set a pace that works for them rather than have it dictated by their lawyer’s schedule or the Judge’s calendar.

The video conference aspect of Online Divorce Mediation is of great benefit. It reduces the potential flashpoints of strife between the parties and increases the quality of communication. The mediation sessions are facilitated by Mr. Leininger, a skilled professional mediator with 26 years of experience, who guides the conversation and moves the process forward.

Rather than hashing things out in a lawyer’s conference room, the parties can call from the comfort of their own home or even while in the car driving. Waiting in courtroom hallways or sitting in the same conference room with your ex-spouse can be stressful especially when important issues are hanging in the balance. That extra tension leads to arguments and higher conflict. Online Divorce Mediation reduces friction because the setting is more relaxed. This detachment allows for a better give and take on the topic in question.

HOW DO WE BEGIN ONLINE DIVORCE MEDIATION?

If after reviewing this website, you and your spouse both feel that Online Divorce Mediation might make sense to both of you, then you should call Mr. Leininger at 941-727-5555 and advise him that the two of you wish to schedule a free online orientation session for Divorce Mediation. This orientation session takes approximately one-half hour and there is no charge. At the conclusion of that orientation session, the two of you will then have three choices. First, if either of you decides that Online Divorce Mediation with Mr. Leininger is not for you, that ends the matter and neither of you has any further obligation to our law firm. On the other hand, if both of you wish to proceed to Online Divorce Mediation with Mr. Leininger, he will then schedule your first online Divorce Mediation session, generally within a week after the orientation session. You will be emailed a Retainer Letter and will be asked to sign it along with a Retainer of $2,500.00 to be paid by credit card, which is usually shared between the parties in some way. This Retainer is refundable to the extent not used. The third option is for the two of you to simply advise Mr. Leininger that you wish to think over the whole process, which is also fine. Once the two of you decide to proceed, you will then call Mr. Leininger and advise him that you now definitely wish to hire him and he will schedule the first online Mediation session.