In this short advisory video, Scott Levin, who calls himself the "Chief Peacekeeper," explains how bullying can surface in divorce when one party dominates and the other lacks financial knowledge. He argues that mediation, combined with a strategically assembled support team, can protect the less‑informed spouse from coercive settlements. Levin outlines the three‑person team he recommends: a consulting attorney who provides advice and reviews proposals without full representation; a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst who consolidates financial data, projects post‑divorce financial scenarios, and handles tax implications; and an experienced, neutral mediator who guides both parties toward a fair, principled agreement. By using this team‑based mediation approach, couples can avoid costly, lengthy litigation, reduce conflict, and reach a settlement in weeks rather than years, thereby saving money, time, and emotional stress.
Chapters
Hey everybody, this is Scott Levin, Chief Peacekeeper, and I wanted to take a couple minutes real quick just to kind of talk about a topic that's been coming up lately in my practice, which is focused on divorce and family mediation. So bullying, obviously a big topic in society for, you know, going back a long ways now, but Made more prominent with recent activities. But bullying is a— is an issue that comes up also in divorce. When there's a dominant personality, and oftentimes the other side might not be as well informed about the finances of the family prior to the divorce being initiated, that person can oftentimes have a lot of fear about being bullied into a settlement that might not be in their best interests. So when that concern is raised for folks that come in and consult with me to learn more about divorce mediation and how mediation can help people through the divorce process, you know, it is a real concern. And, and a lot of those folks do think that they need to run and engage an attorney And go into litigation in order to protect themselves. And I'm not saying that that's a bad idea. What I'm saying— what I'd like to say is that to counter bullying, you want to build a team. And you've heard me talk a lot about team building in divorce. So engaging a consulting attorney to represent just you But on, on the basis of you pinging them for advice. So this happened in our first mediation session. What do you think about this? Or can you review Scott's mediation summary that he sent after the first mediation session? Or can you review the draft marital settlement agreement for us, or for me representing just my perspective? So in mediation, I'm not representing either side, although I'm an attorney. I'm in the middle. I'm trying to get 2 people to, to come to terms, to an agreement. That's my goal, and I want that agreement to be fair and equitable and, and principled. So my role is to accomplish those objectives. But I think that if you can engage a consulting attorney to help, you know, create your proposal or to talk you through how to counter a proposal or, you know, give you advice on a specific issue. That's a really powerful tool. So mediation combined with a consulting attorney. And then I always believe that my clients are better off when they jointly or solely engage a certified divorce financial analyst. So that's a person that understands specifically understands the finances of divorce. And that person can give you, you know, put all of your financial information into a program, tell you what information that you need to get from your spouse, you know, write the email that you can then just copy and paste and send to the mediator and your spouse, you know, to ask for those documents. And then they put that whole financial proposal together. for you, helping you understand not just your financial needs on day 1 of your new reality post-divorce, but that they'll do some planning for you as well. Tax implications, things like that. So their goal is to help you understand what your financial situation on year 3 will be from the divorce and year 5, et cetera. So certified divorce financial analyst, whether the group in mediation engages one For the benefit of both of you, or you engage one yourself, plus a consulting attorney in using the mediation process with a really— with a strong, experienced mediator. That's the ideal team. That's the ideal setup for countering a bullying situation in divorce while, while at the same time saving a ton of money. from avoiding the litigation system and saving yourself a lot of heartache from, you know, a 2-plus-year litigated divorce. In mediation, combined with that team, you could have a settlement in a couple weeks. So bullying is a real factor. It's an issue. People come to me with it. They express that concern. And what I tell them is to build your team and still use mediation because it will be a lifesaver for you. in terms of time and money and, uh, you know, just the, uh, reduction of conflict. Uh, so better for the soul. All right, anyway, Scott Levin, uh, Chief Peacekeeper. Thanks for watching, and I look forward to seeing you guys soon. Bye!
