Law Offices of Sondra BenNaEim

Welcome to the Law Offices of Sondra BenNaEim.

My practice includes:

• (Divorce) Mediation
• Family Law Mediation

Limited Conservatorships (for developmentally disabled adults.)

If you are contemplating a divorce, facing issues involving custody, visitation, creating a workable parenting plan, support or asset/debt division, you have options you may not be familiar with.

Your options include: Mediation, Collaborative Divorce, or Litigation.

Your first two options, Mediation and Collaborative Divorce, offer you the opportunity to avoid going to court (the adversarial process), maintain confidentiality, and determine your own end result.

Your third option is litigation, which ensures you will go to court, your court records will be public (for your children to access at a later date), and the judge, not you, will determine the final outcome of your case.

Please click on the Mediation Divorce links above for more information.

I also mediate other family law matters including paternity issues, custody, support, visitation, parenting plans, asset/debt division, etc. 

I adhere to the high standards of the Association for Conflict Resolution (ACR) Model Standards of Practice for Family and Divorce Mediation. 

If you have a family member with special needs you need to make sure they are protected. I can help you determine if a limited conservatorship (for a developmentally disabled adult) is appropriate.

About Sondra

I think it has alway been my nature to be a peacemaker. I was always the one mediating family disputes and disagreements between my friends. I always believed, and I still do, that you do not have to "gut the opposition" in order to reach an agreement where all participants feel they were a part of the process and satisfied with the outcome. This does not mean that when I need to be a strong advocate I can't. When the situation calls for it, a strong advocate is what you will get.

My first career was in the financial field where I spent ten years in the banking and mortgage business. When I became pregnant with my youngest child I decided to stay home and raise her. She is now grown and I found I had to reinvent myself. I wanted something new. The law had always interested me, so, as an adult, I went back to law school and the second chapter of my life began.

I gravitated to Divorce Mediation, Collaborative Divorce, and Family Law Mediation because I felt there were voices that were not being heard. Not just the voices of the couple divorcing; those of the children involved as well.

So often between the hurt and fear, the divorcing couple forgets there are children involved -- children who are real people with real feelings; not just pawns to be used in the process of divorce.

If the divorcing couple can remember that although they will not alway be husband and wife, they will always be mom and dad, they are miles ahead of their litigating counterparts and will likely benefit from mediation or the collaborative process.

Sometimes it is not a divorcing couple mediating. Perhaps they are already divorced and issues have come up that need to be revisited and mediated. Perhaps it is an unmarried couple that need mediation to work out issues dealing with their child(ren). Sometimes it is other family members who have issues they feel would benefit from mediation. Most situations can be mediated as long as the parties have an open mind and mediate in good faith.

Persons with special needs are also often without a voice. I also work with families to help them determine what they need to do to protect their special needs family members through a limited conservatorship.

My word is important to me. I expect people to say what they mean and mean what they say. I want you to know that if I say I will do something, I will. Whether that is returning a telephone call, sending you something through the mail, researching something, etc.). One of my pet peeves is when someone says they will call me back and they don't. I promise that I will return your phone call within 24 hours (most times sooner) even if it is to say I don't have an answer; I am still researching it.

I would be honored to help guide you through either the mediation or collaborative process so that you may determine your own outcome. Also, if you have a special needs person in your life, I can help you determine whether a limited conservatorship is appropriate for your loved one.

Articles Written

The Five Best Gifts You Can Give Your Children During and After Divorce

Created On: 08/07/2009

Lawyers

Sondra BenNaEim

Free Case Review

Location : Santa Ana, CA

Practice Areas: Divorce Mediation