Northern California Couple with Four Kids Seek Mediation for Very Contentious Divorce

Highlights

• Scott Levin was tasked with mediating a highly contentious and emotional divorce involving a Northern California couple with four children and substantial assets. The wife wanted an agreement that would keep her and the children in the family home, yet she did not have the money to buy out her husband’s equity share in the home. The husband did not want to concede the family home to his wife because he did not want to be perceived as the “losing” party.
• Scott helped both parties come to an agreement that would separate assets fairly, allowed the mother to stay in the home, and arranged a custody and support agreement that worked in favor of the children.

Case Details

After a year of spending money without progress, Jessica and David* agreed to try mediation. Infidelity was discovered, which created a permanent and sudden rift leading to divorce. Both Jessica and David refused to even be in the same room together and had serious doubts they could resolve the divorce in mediation. Additionally, their teenage children were very hurt by their father’s actions. Jessica and David earn significant income; but given the cost of living with four children in the most expensive city in North America, their monthly income mainly supported lifestyle expenses with little left for savings. They co-owned a home for nearly two decades, accumulated nearly $1 million in 401k assets, and a $1 million inheritance account.

Jessica insisted the key to her agreeing to a settlement is she retains the home. To do this, she needed to buy out David; but she did not have enough cash to pay his portion of the equity. Scott worked with each party to determine there were enough community assets to allow Jessica to retain the house and equity in exchange for David keeping other assets. David did not want to remain on the mortgage because he did not want to risk his credit being damaged, nor did he want to be perceived as “losing” (as he viewed Jessica staying in the home as her winning). Scott drafted an agreement to protect David’s credit and situated the buyout option as David doing what’s best for the children. 

Results

The couple agreed the children will reside with Jessica at the home, but David will spend time with them in the afternoons several times a week. The family agreed that David and the kids would visit a psychologist weekly to help mend and improve their relationships. This custody arrangement gives continued and consistent contact for David while respecting the teenage children’s wish to live with their mother for the immediate future. Additionally, Jessica and David agree that no introduction to any new partners will be made for two years. This gives the family a chance to stabilize without the looming pressure of the possible introduction to a new romantic partner from either side. 

“Scott knows what he’s doing! He helped us work together to come up with the most fair and objective solution to splitting up our assets. He’s a thoughtful and great listener. I can’t wait to use him for my next divorce!”

*Names changed