Mediation online and mediation in-person follow different paths to reach the same goals: restoring peace in the family through confidential, collaborative agreements. Online mediation offers convenience (no commute required), more flexible hours, and lower fees. I work primarily online, offering divorce, family, and elder mediation. In-person mediation may be available again soon, in Claremont, CA, and Pasadena, CA.
Divorce mediation offers a way forward with dignity, to an agreement that meets your needs for parenting plans, child and/or spousal support, division of assets and debts, or modification of existing orders. Family mediation can address many potential issues resulting from major life transitions: pre-marital and post-marital agreements, divorce, business difficulties within family-owned businesses, elder care issues, and more.
I mediate primarily online, serving Southern California from Claremont, CA. I have attended hundreds of hours of mediation training since 1990. I have mediated family and divorce issues in California since 2006. Before that, I practiced law for thirteen years. My legal experience includes service in the US Navy JAG Corps, as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, Assistant County Counsel in Jackson County, OR, and as a family lawyer in Jackson County, OR.
My first mediation training in 1990 changed the way I practiced law to a more collaborative style. I left the practice of law entirely in 1996 to focus on mediation. I have attended over 600 hours of training with some of the best trainers in the business, and have mediated 250+ cases. Most of the mediations were for divorce, but I have also mediated pre-marital agreements, adult family/elder issues, and claims related to family-owned businesses. I offer online mediation now. I hope to resume in-person mediation very soon, when COVID slinks away.
My approach to mediation is respectful and pragmatic. I work online or in-person, helping clients to find common ground from which they can build their agreements. For divorce mediation, the label that best suits my style is either “pragmatic” or “facilitative”. For elder /adult family mediation, I tend more toward the “transformative” end of the mediation spectrum. I will choose any tool or process that seems likely at the time to help the clients meet their mediation goals.
I hold California Clear Teaching credentials for Multiple Subjects and Single-Subject – English
My hourly fee for online mediation is $220/hr. The usual range for a comprehensive divorce mediation with a marital settlement agreement is $2,200 to $3,200 (without minor children, for online mediation) or $2,860 to $3,740 (with minor children, for online mediation). Please inquire.
A Limited Scope Mediation refers here to one or two online sessions, with a short written summary of the session, but not a complete mediated Marital Settlement Agreement. A stand-alone mediation session is $495 for 2 hours. Please inquire.
Premarital conversations can be hourly, or a set fee for an agreed amount of time. Please inquire.