Frequently Asked Questions About Mediation

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Family Law Mediation is a confidential process that keeps you and your spouse in charge of making the important decisions that will best benefit your family. Donna Denham, is a trained Family Law Mediator who will work both individually and together with you and your spouse, being your neutral professional, guiding both parties through the Mediation process. Her role as a neutral means she does not represent either party in their divorce, but instead offers a safe environment that fosters building healthier communication between the parties.

Attorney Denham is aware that communication between the parties is often strained during this transition from being a married couple to being single. Mediation sessions can end up being beneficial in more ways than described above in that couples who had lost the ability to communicate with each other are able to start their new roles as a family if there is co-parenting in the future. When you work with Denham Family Law, you are trusting your Mediation needs to a Family Law Specialist with over 16 years of experience helping clients navigate through one of the most difficult times of their lives. Donna has made it her mission to be a help to families going through the temporary crisis of a divorce in their lives and has always had the intention of settling cases rather than litigating through the court system. Donna is a trained professional who is a very present help in assisting both parties in working out mutually beneficial agreements that keep your family out of Court, cutting down the astronomical financial and emotional costs of a traditional divorce, and most importantly, keeping the family in control of their lives and the lives of their children.

Donna Denham works with families who desire to resolve their divorce without high conflict and/or litigation, saving costly thousands of dollars in attorney’s fees by working with you as you work the details of your divorce out between yourselves in a confidential environment. Donna’s years of experience as a Family Law Specialist in San Diego, California, as well as her many hours serving as a volunteer settlement attorney with the San Diego Family Court, gives her the ability to assist families through this difficult process without litigation. As your Family Law Mediator, Denham Family Law can assist the parties in identifying each important topic that needs to be addressed, helping the parties to work through these issues in the order of importance, keeping the parties focused on the topic at hand, assist in brainstorming for the right solutions for both parties, facilitate a positive environment for working out sensitive issues such as co-parenting plans and finances, draft the agreements as agreed to by the parties, and make any revisions for finalization and filing with the Court.

Denham Family Law can also assist the parties in preparing their first appearance pleadings such as the Petition and Response, as well as putting together and exchanging their individual Preliminary Declaration of Disclosures, which can often be an overwhelming task for people going through the divorce process.

No. As your trained Family Law Mediator, Attorney Denham cannot give legal advice to either party.  She can educate the parties on the law, but she does not represent either party.Each party is encouraged to seek the services and advice of a consulting attorney who will discuss the individual party’s legal rights and look over the written agreement before it is filed with the Court.

Although there is no way to guarantee that a case can be resolved through mediation between the parties, working with an experienced, highly trained Family Law Mediator like Attorney Denham has proven to be successful in even the most difficult situations. Our office can assist both parties in assessing if their matter is suitable for Mediation.

Although each case is unique, it is customary for parties to resolve their family law matter through Mediation within 2 to 8 sessions with the mediator, but can, at times, require more. Each session is up to 2 hours in length, and co-parenting planning can often take several sessions.

Divorces handled through Mediation more likely are resolved faster and less costly than when they are in Court. This is true even if the parties are not in full disagreement regarding their issues because the Court system handles thousands of cases per day and the backlog is often tremendous.

The parties will meet with our office virtually via Zoom. This allows the parties to attend their mediation sessions in the privacy of their home or office, avoiding the need to sit in traffic, to pay parking, and also allows the parties not to be physically present with the other party (which is more comfortable for some clients). Private attorneys for the parties are able to be present if appropriate, although the parties are encouraged, as stated above, to enlist their individual attorneys for the purpose of consultation and legal advice on their matter.

Give our office a call and speak to our experienced Legal Assistant, Lisa Marie Garcia. Lisa has over 25 years of experience working with clients in multiple types of legal cases. In addition to extensive experience in assistant attorneys and their clients, Lisa brings her expertise as a National Board-Certified Health & Wellness Coach, giving her a unique perspective to navigate with their clients through difficult emotions and makes working with Denham Family Law on Mediation an easier experience for the clients, from the intake process to the conclusion of their matter. 

Lisa will get some general information from one of the parties, then she will ask that the other party call the office to confirm that they agree to mediation. Once the 2nd party contacts her, she will set up a complimentary 30 minute session with both parties and Donna Denham to describe the process and answer any questions about the process. 

Once the parties agree to mediate, Lisa will send them a Mediation Agreement and a few more informational articles. Once both parties sign the Mediation Agreement and credit card authorization, she will schedule three appointments. Each party will meet with Donna Denham for a premediation session lasting 30 minutes, then everyone will meet together for the first mediation session. A premediation technique is one she employs after attending Bill Eddy's High Conflict Mediation Training. During the premediation, Donna will explain the process of proposals . The timing between the premediaton and mediation session is usually one week apart.