WHAT TO EXPECT IN DIVORCE MEDIATION

June 29, 2022

Sometimes it is easiest for prospective clients to understand what divorce mediation is like, by learning more about what divorce mediation is not.  Divorce mediation is a process where couples attend together (either in-person or virtually) and work together over a few sessions to create an agreement on parenting, division of assets and debts, child support and alimony. Our iimpartial mediator, William J. Leininger, JD.  guides the couple through the process. At the end of mediation, the divorcing couple leaves with a Marital Settlement Agreement that lays out their agreement.

This definition means that divorce mediation is not therapy nor a place to work on the issues that led the couple to decide to divorce. Rather, it is a forum for crafting a practical plan for the future. While sessions may sometime become emotional, mediation is primarily a forward-looking process rather than a backward-looking one.

At the mediation offices of William J. Leininger, JD, the mediator's role in this process is to guide the clients in their decision-making by listening to their goals and asking questions that they may not have considered on their own. The divorce mediator may take steps to ensure that both spouses have a voice in crafting the plan and that the ultimate agreement is fair and equitable to both parties. However, the mediator remains neutral throughout the sessions. He is not there to take sides. In addition, it is not his role to act like a judge and decide how the couple should proceed.

This dynamic allows the clients to have control over their own plan and tailor it to their family's specific needs. Moreover, divorce mediation has the added benefit of fostering cooperation so that ex-spouses learn how to work together toward agreement.  In general, people are more likely to follow a plan that they helped draft than one that was foisted upon them by the Court.

 For more information about divorce mediation, please contact William J. Leininger, JD at 941-727-5555, or view our website at www.SarasotaDivorceMediator.com or email us at [email protected]