One Portland Divorce Mediator, Five Services

You should not pay multiple people to do what one extensively trained and experienced professional can accomplish for you.

I am the only Portland mediator for whom all of the following are true:

Dictionaries define “mediator” as one who helps disputing parties reach agreements, but you’d be hard-pressed to find one that mentions law in the initial definition.

A divorce is a legal matter, so the mediator must have broad and deep knowledge of the law in general, particularly family law. It is not enough simply to help people reach agreement. The substance and level of detail of the agreement matter at least as much as the concept of resolution itself.

For such a task, there is no substitute for 1200 hours of legal instruction and at least that many more hours studying the law in a three-year J.D. degree program.

Law-degreed divorce mediator with 21 years of experience

Every divorce involves finances to some extent.

The division of property and debts in a divorce settlement is nonmodifiable except in the rarest circumstances. It is crucial to get it right the first time without regret about not being thorough enough.

Law school alone does not provide enough financial training, so I sought and obtained substantial additional financial training. Then, I took it a step further by authoring a comprehensive set of materials that I began to use in my practice in January 2026 and will be marketing in late 2026.

The fusion of a law degree with specialized financial training results in a Marital Settlement Agreement that contains legal nuances to accommodate financial nuances.

Family Law Financial Analyst

The do-it-yourself parenting plan forms provided by the State of Oregon have space for schedules, exchange times, residence, communication, decision-making, and future dispute resolution. Those categories miss about 90% of all the decisions that parents should include in their divorce agreements.

I create comprehensive parenting plans that include questions about more than 50 categories of topics that you could address in your divorce agreement.

Parenting plan expert and divorce coach

For 21 years, I have invited teens and pre-teens to be part of the divorce mediation process. It is what is known as “child-inclusive mediation.”

Kids aren’t present in the adult mediation sessions, nor are they allowed to vote on or veto decisions that their parents make on their behalf. However, there is substantial research that shows that allowing a teen or pre-teen to have input as to the parenting plan is constructive and helpful.

Allowing teen and pre-teen kids to have a confidential session with the divorce mediator does not “put the child in the middle,” as some people incorrectly suppose that it could. In a litigated divorce with a custody evaluation, a judge would take into account the wishes of a teen or preteen. The same should be true for mediation.

I have a room of my office reserved exclusively for talking to teens and pre-teens. It is furnished comfortably and decorated casually. There is no other mediator in Oregon who does so free of charge. I have offered no-cost sessions to the children of my mediation clients since the first day of my practice in November 2005.

Free services for teens and pre-teens

I have been an Oregon notary public since 2017. I provide free notary services to clients during and after mediation.

Sometimes, my notary stamp and seal come in handy if you want a very quick agreement written and notarized on the spot in the middle of a mediation sessions about a specific point that you want to be sure both parties will abide by.

Although my notary services are not as crucial to the success of mediation as the other four skills that I bring to the process, being a notary is a convenience that I am happy to offer.