IS THERE ANY CASE TOO BIG FOR DIVORCE MEDIATION?

It has been 28 years since I started my divorce mediation practice. Over the years, it has continued to grow as I have come to realize that divorce litigation only benefits one group of people, namely the divorce lawyers. The husband and the wife, and frequently their parents and siblings and close friends frequently spend tens of thousands of dollars to help the couple fight a bitter contested divorce action in court.  Since I am best known now as a divorce mediator, I am frequently asked by wealthy clients whether any divorce case is too big for it to be handled by divorce mediation. Many of these prospective clients believe that since so many millions of dollars are involved, that the only way their divorce will be resolved is by each spouse hiring an aggressive divorce attorney at a cost of $25,000.00, $50,000.00 or even $100,000.00 or more for each spouse!

This past April, I was retained by a couple that originally had $12 million of liquid assets. Over the previous 12-month period, the value of their stock investments had declined from $12 million to $10 million and accordingly, they wished to resolve their matrimonial dispute quickly, and obtain a divorce as quickly as possible so that all of their assets could be divided up, including the large portion of those assets held in taxsheltered accounts which required the use of Domestic Relations Orders. Based upon my 40 plus years of experience as a divorce litigator, I estimated that if this couple each hired their own divorce litigator and commenced litigation in divorce court, that they each would probably spend between $25,000.00 and $50,000.00 or more. Certainly, combined legal fees of over $100,000.00 would not be unusual given the fact that they had over $10 million of assets.

Because I worked diligently on the case to move it forward, we were able to settle the entire case by early October, only 5 ½ months after I had been retained. The total mediation fees for both parties totaled less than $8,300.00. Their quick judgment of divorce cost them approximately $1,500.00. 

This case is a perfect example of why I say that no case is too big to resolve by the use of divorce mediation.

By using divorce mediation you can minimize the harm caused to your children that God has given you!

 
The most important lesson that I have learned after being a divorce mediator for 28 years is to tell the prospective clients to retain an experienced divorce mediator who has handled hundreds of divorce mediation cases, preferably involving millions of dollars of assets and, if custody issues are involved, who has handled difficult custody cases in court and in mediation. By finding the right experienced divorce mediator, you and your spouse can save up to 90 percent in legal fees that a contested divorce in court would cost. Moreover, it will be the goal of the divorce mediator to let the two of you part as friends so that you can maintain those dozens of family and friends whom the two of you have accumulated over the years.

If you and your spouse are considering divorce, we offer a 30 minute Free Mediation Consultation. We will answer all your questions and then tell the two of you to go home and think mediation over. There is NO Pressure. Indeed we do NOT accept a retainer during this Free session since it is essential that both of you feel comfortable with your choice of a Divorce Mediator. What have you got to lose to have a free 30- minute consultation with Mr. Leininger? Call our office at 718-979-5200 to schedule the Free mediation Consultation.

Divorce Mediation Offices

of

William J. Leininger, PC

900 South Avenue - Suite 300

Staten Island, NY 10314

Tel. (718) 979-5200

www.DivorceMediation.Org