BURLINGTON, VERMONT, UNITED STATES, October 29, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- When he separated from his spouse, Erik Wheeler had no idea that divorce would change more than his personal life—it would also change his career.

As he was going through the divorce, he learned about mediation, which was suggested by a financial advisor as a less expensive option for divorce than only using attorneys. He and his wife used divorce mediation to reach agreement on the details for their parenting agreement.

They were not as successful reaching a financial settlement, and ultimately needed a court hearing to divide assets. This was a life-changing event for Wheeler.

“Going to court was a real eye opener for me when I saw how the legal system handles divorce. It’s not structured to solve problems, it’s structured to be adversarial. So couples spend most of their time focused on the past, and on trying to blame each other,” says Wheeler.

Wheeler’s personal experience prompted him to change careers from a technology executive and become a mediator. “I felt that the divorce process could be done so much better, and I wanted to help people have a better experience than I had,” he says. He completed a Masters in Mediation and became one of the Vermont mediators approved by the Vermont Judiciary.

As a divorce mediator, Wheeler guides couples through the process, explaining the many different decisions they will need to make as part of divorce. If they can’t agree on certain items, he helps facilitate the discussion and negotiations.

Working in two-hour sessions, most couples need three to four sessions to work through the different decisions. They will discuss asset division, debt division, and alimony. If they have children, they will also make decisions on parental rights and responsibilities (commonly referred to as “custody”), and parent-child contact, which is the amount of time the children spend with each parent.

Once they have made all the decisions, the mediator can fill out the court documents and give them a set of paperwork that they can file with the court.

The cost savings of mediation can be substantial. “When a couple is working only with attorneys, they will need to spend at least $10,000, but in mediation, they will usually spend less than $3,000,” says Wheeler.

After the mediator completes the court paperwork, each spouse can have an attorney review the documents and provide feedback, and if either person would like to make changes to the agreement, they can continue negotiating in mediation. “You can always come back to the table, until the paperwork is submitted to the court,” says Wheeler.

The whole process can be completed much more quickly than if the case needs to go to a court hearing. Couples often need to wait many months just to have the initial hearing. And at the court hearing, the decisions will be completely up to the judge, not the couple.

“The beauty of mediation is that the couple is in full control of the process, as well as the outcome,” Wheeler says. “They can take the time they need to create a solution that works for them and their children. A judge won’t have time to understand their situation as well as they do, so it simply makes more sense for the couple to create the solution.”

Contact
Erik Wheeler
Accord Mediation
802-391-4121

Erik Wheeler
Accord Mediation
+1 802-391-4121
erik@accordmediationvt.com