Highlights

• After three sessions with his wife and mediator, the client is being pushed to agree to a settlement that is unfair and inequitable. Scott is hired as a consulting attorney and helps educate and empowers the client to rebut mistakes made by the mediator.
• The client receives coaching from Scott that improves his interactions with the mediator and wife so that the mediation sessions are focused and productive.
• The outcome is a much-improved financial, parenting and support agreement.

Case Study

Ryan* is in the midst of mediating his divorce with his wife, Leslie, and another mediator. After three mediation sessions, Ryan is very concerned because the settlement discussions are unfair and skewed in favor of Leslie. The couple moved to San Diego to be closer to Leslie’s family and lived in their prior city for over a decade. Ryan feels stuck in San Diego and Leslie is adamant she and their daughter will not move under any circumstances. Since the move to San Diego, Leslie had not worked full-time, and Ryan’s earnings significantly decreased. She asked for $4,500 in child and spousal support and 75% custody based on her belief that she was the primary caretaker. Additionally, Leslie inherited a multi-million dollar property, which she neither lives in nor rents out — disallowing approximately $6,500 per month of additional income.

Scott created a strategy to de-escalate the level of conflict and emotions in the mediation sessions. He created a parenting plan proposal that invoked California’s laws; in particular, how the state promotes equal parenting time wherever appropriate. With respect to child support, Scott identified numerous errors that resulted in Ryan owing more child support than required. For example, Ryan’s income was incorrectly calculated due to his pension payments not being factored and he was paid 11 months of the year, not 12. The corrected calculation reduced his support by more than 40%! Finally, Scott explained that Leslie’s choice to neither rent nor sell the inherited residence should be reflected in the support calculations. If she had millions of dollars in the bank or was receiving $6,500 per month in rental income, her need for spousal support would be dramatically reduced or eliminated.

Results

Ryan took the child and spousal support information into the next mediation session and rebuts the mediator’s calculations of $4,500 per month. The result is Ryan and Leslie agree to neither paying any child or spousal support. Scott’s work as consulting attorney saved Ryan more than $54,000 annually. Custody is also negotiated with the co-parents agreeing to share equal time with their daughter. As a result of Scott’s help, Ryan’s was excited to embark on a new path forward post-divorce and as a father to his daughter.

“Scott Levin has helped pull me through the most difficult time of my adult life. I got separated one year ago, and he has worked as my consulting attorney since then. I can’t say enough about his work ethic, quality of legal advice, responsiveness in communication, and compassion for my family situation. Even though he was hired to take my side, he never made the process feel like a zero-sum game. Scott’s training as both a mediator and lawyer gave him great insight into helping couples divorce with both party’s interests met without compromising his client’s goals. He took into consideration my son’s situation as my former spouse and I worked through a separate mediation firm to finalize our custody agreement. I would highly recommend working with Scott who knows what he is doing and will work tirelessly to support you and your interests.”

*Names changed