Irvine Divorce Mediation by Zoom
Understand the salary, stock and housing choices before you agree to the division.
Base salary, a vesting statement and a stock-account balance answer different questions. If your divorce involves equity compensation, I help you work out what needs analysis for property division and for support before you negotiate. I work with Irvine couples by Zoom as a neutral attorney-mediator and CDFA®, bringing the legal and financial discussion together. We also settle the home, retirement and parenting arrangements, and then I draft your settlement agreement and prepare the agreed court paperwork.
California attorney since 2004 · 2,500+ mediations · Certified Divorce Financial Analyst® (CDFA®)
2024–2027
Get the records behind the proposed number
Suppose one spouse proposes a stock-account balance as the figure to divide, while the other is worried about grants that haven’t vested yet. Before anyone agrees to a single number, we need to identify the awards and records involved, and the support discussion needs a clear income picture too.
| Record | What it helps us examine |
|---|---|
| Grant and vesting documents | Which awards are involved, their terms, and when the benefits actually become available. |
| Pay and compensation records | Salary, bonuses and equity-related income that bear on the support discussion. |
| Account statements | What is held now, what has been sold, and how a proposed division would be carried out. |
Follow the compensation through to the settlement
A house buyout alongside the stock division
One spouse may propose keeping the home while the other receives investments or retirement assets. I help you compare those choices with debt, liquidity, taxes and future housing costs in mind. The amount on an account statement doesn’t tell you what you can spend, so we work through the implications before agreeing on an offset. How a house buyout works.
Support with more than a base paycheck
Bonuses, commissions and equity-based pay make the income picture harder to read. We review the records together and keep child support distinct from the legal considerations that drive longer-term spousal support, so you can discuss the proposal using the same inputs and assumptions. Spousal support mediation.
Retirement and other employment benefits
If one of you works at UCI, a technology company or another employer, we review the actual benefits and plan documents that apply to you; a job title isn’t enough to identify what needs dividing. I help you compare settlement approaches. QDRO and other retirement-order preparation, when needed, is referred to another firm.
Separate property and tracing
Awards granted before the marriage, an inheritance, or savings brought into the marriage raise tracing questions. I help you identify which records exist, what they show, and how a reasonable settlement can account for a claim without a court fight.
Two work schedules and a workable parenting plan
A parenting plan has to fit the school run, childcare, work travel and the distance between homes. We settle the regular week, school breaks and how you’ll handle a child’s unexpected needs. When both parents have demanding schedules, the plan should say who is responsible for pickups and changes rather than leaving it to last-minute messages.
When the schedule is the hard part, Mary Levin, a Co-Parenting Specialist®, can join as co-mediator. Mary focuses on schedules, communication and how two homes will run for your children. I cover the legal and financial side, in one process. Learn about co-mediation.
What Clients Say
285+ five-star reviews across Google, Yelp, Avvo and Facebook combined.
Scott helped me and my spouse navigate all the aspects of our divorce amicably, including offering an expert neutral party perspective on sticking points. He directed us to a suitable external financial advisor to offer inputs, as well as for me to set up a personal trust…
Scott helped me and my spouse navigate all the aspects of our divorce amicably, including offering an expert neutral party perspective on sticking points. He directed us to a suitable external financial advisor to offer inputs, as well as for me to set up a personal trust. He drafted our full marital settlement agreement thoroughly, iterated with us promptly on our edits, and arranged all logistics smoothly. He has a calm demeanor and he is easy to talk to. I highly recommend him.
How the process works
I guide the whole process as a neutral for both of you. I provide and review the financial disclosure forms; you each complete and exchange your own disclosures. I facilitate our meetings, draft and revise the marital settlement agreement, open the case when needed, and prepare and submit the agreed judgment paperwork. How online divorce mediation works.
In most cases the judge approves an agreed judgment without either of you appearing. If your case is likely to need an appearance, I’ll tell you at the start. I don’t represent either spouse in court.
Your case stays in the Orange County court
Irvine divorce cases are ordinarily filed in Orange County through the Lamoreaux Justice Center in Orange. My San Diego office doesn’t change that. I confirm county residency, jurisdiction and any existing case before preparing the filings. The Orange County page explains the filing location and the remote process in more detail.
Generally, at least one spouse must have lived in California for six months and in the county for three months before filing for divorce. California also requires at least six months before marital status can end. When that period starts depends on how the case is filed, and I’ll explain which applies to you.
Why I practice this way
Earlier in my career I represented clients in court. I saw how often litigation deepened conflict and drained what a family had built, and that is why I focus on mediation.
Today I help couples resolve their divorce outside the courtroom. I don’t represent clients in contested litigation.
As your mediator I’m neutral and don’t represent either of you individually. You’re each welcome to have your own attorney review the agreement. If you want advice for only one spouse, I also work separately as a consulting attorney, after a conflict check. I can’t mediate and advise one side in the same case.
Flat-fee mediation through judgment
My divorce mediation packages are flat-fee, with a defined scope. The fee covers the meetings specified in your mediation agreement, preparation and revision of your marital settlement agreement, and drafting and filing the required court forms from opening the case, when needed, through judgment.
If you need additional mediation time beyond the included meetings, it is billed at the hourly rate stated in your agreement. We go over the scope, the rates and any other anticipated charges before you begin.
Some cases need a separate retirement division order or help from an appraiser, business valuator or tax advisor. We discuss how that work will be arranged and any additional fees before proceeding. I offer a discount on mediation fees for active-duty service members.
Common questions
Do we have to sell our stock before we can settle?
Not necessarily. We can look at proposals that spell out how an award or investment will be divided and when. The grant terms, transfer restrictions, taxes and risks have to be understood first, and I don’t assume that selling everything is the right answer for either of you.
What if we disagree about how much income to use for support?
We identify the records and assumptions behind each position, including compensation beyond salary, and both of you review the information before comparing calculations. If the issue needs outside accounting or tax input, we arrange it. The aim is to resolve the disagreement with evidence you can both examine.
Can online meetings work around different work hours?
Yes. We set the meeting schedule before the work begins, and you can each join from a private space without traveling to the same room. Tell me about work travel and privacy needs so the format works for both of you.
Can we mediate if only one of us handles the investments?
Yes, provided both of you disclose complete information and the other has room to understand it. We review statements, compensation documents and proposed options together, and either of you can get independent advice. The process should never depend on one person simply accepting the other’s explanation.
What if a stock award hasn’t vested by the time we settle?
We identify the award, review its terms and work out how the agreement should treat it, keeping the property questions separate from the support questions. If the proposal depends on specialized tax or valuation advice, we get it before you agree to the terms.
Start with the compensation question you need answered
A free consultation is a chance to describe the financial or parenting issues in your case and see whether mediation by video fits. Call 858-293-1410 or schedule online.