Divorce Lessons Learned from an Innovative Process

Most separating couples harbor questions, fears, insecurities and anger and all are intertwined.  Add friends and relative who shovel fuel on the fire (“you should take him/her for all she has”) and others who give erroneous advice on what should happen and it is no wonder clients spend large fees on lawyers to sooth their sense of entitlement.  Most businesses that act like that fail to survive.

Divorcing couples need to be innovative to create individually designed solutions to the reality of trying to successfully separate as it relates to finances, property, debts and children.  Innovation leads to better solutions and positive results.  But innovation isn’t the role of the Courts.  And it is not easy.

An Illinois strategy company, Cloverleaf Innovation, describes a process it has trademarked at the “LEAF Innovation Process”.  It’s cornerstones are also the underlying concepts of the divorce mediation process. 

*  Look/Listen/Learn

*  Envision

*  Activate

* Forward

Mediation places two people in one room with a trained neutral.  Each party must look, listen and learn from the other party who describes his or her perceptions and needs.  Then, the parties work on trying to envision what they believe is the best situation for the children and the best way to divide the assets and debts so that both parties can move forward. Various options are discussed; some ideas and concepts may be “outside the box” to stimulate as many options as possible.  By envisioning and speaking/listening/learning the positive and negative attributes of potential solutions, parties can begin to visualize their solutions. 

Then, the mediation process maps out a plan to activate the agreed upon solution.  Once the solution is activated, both parties can move forward.  Divorce should not be an exercise of assured mutual destruction, included financial destruction caused by high litigation expenses.     

CAll Steve at 352-1000 to learn more.