Services
Donison Law Firm, PLLC, offers the following services to clients and professionals:
- Consulting
- Arbitration
- Mediation
- Collaborative Divorce
- Cooperative Divorce
- Double Divorce – For Business Owners
- 5 Day Divorce Retreat
- Negotiated Settlements and Cooperative Divorce
- Premarital and Cohabitation Agreements
- Judge Pro Tem
- Services for Colleagues
Consulting
Our consulting services give you the information you need in a focused one-on-one meeting. We consult on a wide variety of family law topics, including:
- rights and responsibilities related to divorce
- review of documents, including Premarital Agreements
- advice on how to approach your spouse for mediation or Collaborative Divorce
- child support calculations
- premarital review of community property laws
Consulting is provided on an hourly fee basis by appointment only. 
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Arbitration
Arbitration is for people with irreconcilable differences of opinion that agree on one key issue: they do not want to go to Court. Sometimes, people do not want to engage in face-to-face negotiations or feel that they cannot effectively mediate or negotiate because of the emotional elements involved. In those cases, you will find arbitration to be an effective method of obtaining an expert decision without the cost or stress of going to trial.
In some areas of law, this concept of “private trial” is quite common and valued for its speed of resolution, cost efficiency (in comparison with traditional litigation) and finality because you walk away with a binding decision without ever having to go to trial.
Donison Law Firm offers a three-person arbitration panel consisting of Pamela Donison (attorney arbitrator), Charles Scott (Certified Divorce Financial Planner and Financial Fiduciary), and Sarah Matheson (MA, LPC, individual and relationship counseling.)
You and your spouse will present your view of the issues to the panel who will discuss and deliberate over your unique facts and circumstances. The three panelists will then collectively come up with an opinion that reflects their individual areas of expertise in a sensible plan that is tailor-made to your unique circumstances, needs, and desires.
Arbitration is equally successful for divorce, paternity, parenting plans, and post-decree issues. Arbitration is offered on a flat fee basis only.
For more information about arbitration, contact our office. Top of page
Mediation
Mediation is one of the oldest and most effective methods of resolving conflicts, with roots in the tribal tradition of bringing disputes before the elders. In mediation, you and your spouse will discuss all aspects of the issues with Pamela Donison, your mediator and third-party neutral. In other settings, mediation can be time-pressured, coercive, or support an imbalance of power, resulting in agreements that do not truly serve your unique needs. In our view, creating agreements that impact the most important aspects of your life – children, family, property, businesses and finances – deserves careful consideration. We encourage clients to consult with therapists, counselors, child psychologists, financial professionals, and spiritual mentors as part of the decision-making process.
Pamela will facilitate communication and help you identify common ground. In most cases, disputes are not “resolved” as much as they are transformed from unacceptable outcomes to jointly-created solutions. When you have reached a final agreement through mediation with Pamela, it will reflect who you are as a person and as a family.
Mediation is equally successful for creating cohabitation agreements and premarital agreements, paternity, divorce or legal separation, developing parenting plans, and all post-decree issues. Mediation is offered on a flat fee basis only.
For more information about mediation, contact our office. Top of page
Collaborative Divorce
Collaborative Divorce is a process wherein each party is represented by counsel, a communication coach (usually a psychologist or other therapy professional), a financial expert, and a child expert. The overwhelming advantage of Collaborative Divorce is that it allows parties to work together with a professional support team to reach a fair and equitable settlement. Each party agrees at the outset not to engage in litigation and, if either party determines that litigation is necessary, all professionals involved are required to withdraw from representation.
Collaborative Divorce is offered on a flat fee, hourly fee, or hybrid basis. To hear more about Collaborative Divorce, click here to listen to an interview with Pamela Donison.
For more information about the collaborative divorce process, see:
International Academy of Collaborative Professionals
For more information about Collaborative Divorce, contact our office. Top of page
Cooperative Divorce
Cooperative divorce is similar to Collaborative Divorce in that the parties agree to avoid litigation in favor of creating their own settlement. It is similar to negotiated settlements in that parties work toward a settlement with as little legal intervention as possible. Unlike Collaborative Divorce, which is a distinct, formal arrangement between the professionals and the parties, cooperative divorce is a somewhat more informal process. Generally, each party is represented by counsel, and may (as needed) call upon other professionals, experts, and advisors to assist in finalizing their agreements.
The process of cooperative divorce is equally applicable to all family law matters, including post-decree issues. Cooperative divorce is offered on a flat fee, hourly fee, or hybrid basis.
For more information about cooperative divorce, contact our office. Top of page
Double Divorce
“Double Divorce” refers to the common problem of divorcing couples who own businesses. The result is that both your personal assets and business assets have to be divided in a way that preserves the integrity of the business entity while providing a fair and equitable result for the person who is not retaining an interest in the business. In a Double Divorce, we work closely with business counsel and accountants to make sure that all of the legal and financial issues of the business divorce are addressed, as well as the personal and property issues of your family divorce. We understand that going to trial as a business owner is a very dangerous game due to mandatory disclosure rules, which means that your business financial data may end up as a public record.
Pamela Donison holds a B.A. in Business Management, has over twenty years of experience in the corporate world, and is dedicated to handling this type of dispute in a reasonable, rational manner to preserve marital assets. She has helped over 100 business owners work through the myriad issues of disentangling a marital estate with business assets in the mix. Whether your business is a small “mom and pop” entity or a multi-million dollar enterprise with hundreds of employees, if it is closely held and your marital estate has an interest, we can help.
Double Divorce can be resolved through arbitration, mediation, Collaborative Divorce, or negotiated settlement. Double Divorce can be accomplished on a flat fee, hourly fee, or hybrid basis.
For more information about double divorce, contact our office. Top of page
5 Day Divorce Retreat
In response to the needs of our clients, Pamela Donison created a new paradigm for divorcing couples, the 5 Day Divorce Retreat. This ground-breaking collection of services has been packaged into one amazing retreat, designed to help people in divorce transition minimize costs and maximize their outcomes. For more information, click here.
Negotiated Settlements
Negotiated settlements may be established between the parties, with or without counsel, and with a host of professionals assisting. Unlike mediation, in all cases of negotiated settlements, the firm represents only one of the parties and we take the role of advocate.
In negotiation, Pamela Donison will work with you to focus your goals, educate you on possible outcomes, and help you develop creative, personalized solutions to your unique circumstances. We will not escalate the conflict in your dispute and work hard to create an amicable and results-oriented relationship with everyone involved in the process. When negotiations become difficult, Pamela relies on her years of experience in contract negotiation to help optimize your outcome.
The process of negotiated settlements is equally applicable to all family law matters. Negotiation is offered on an hourly fee basis.
For more information about negotiated settlements, cooperative divorce, fees, and deposits, contact our office. Top of page
Premarital and Cohabitation Agreements
With divorce rates hovering between 40 and 70 percent nationwide (Arizona is at approximately 65%), a premarital agreement can be the difference between a catastrophic divorce and an amicable parting of ways in the event the marriage does not survive. Many people have a misconception about premarital agreements, believing they are only for the super-rich or that they indicate a lack of faith in the marriage. In fact, a premarital agreement is important if you:
- own a business or property prior to marriage;
- are an inventor or artist who owns and develops intellectual property;
- have children from a previous relationship;
- are guardian for a person who depends upon you for support;
- are entering a marriage where your incomes are very disparate; or
- want to preserve wealth for future generations in the event of a divorce.
Cohabitation agreements are very much like premarital agreements, except the contract contemplates that the parties (either heterosexual or same sex couples) are not going to wed, but are going to live together in a committed relationship for a long period of time. The cohabitation agreement can set forth terms regarding how bills are paid, responsibilities are shared, and income is allocated. The agreements usually also provide for how property will be divided in the event of a break up, when no marital property laws would apply.
Anyone contemplating living with another should seriously consider entering into a cohabitation agreement before the move occurs or, if you are already living together, you should consider memorializing the agreements you are living within. Top of page
Judge Pro Tem
Pamela Donison was appointed by the Supreme Court of Arizona as a Judge Pro Tempore for Maricopa County Superior Court in 2005. As such, Pamela provides pro bono services through the Court for Family Court settlement conferences and sits on the bench for various Family Court commissioners and judges on an on-call basis.
Services for Colleagues
Presentations and Workshops
Pamela Donison enjoys assisting other professionals (financial, therapeutic, educational, etc.) in providing information regarding non-litigated divorce, child custody, paternity, property division and parenting time. If you or your organization wants to provide your clients or members with current and relevant information, I will work with you to customize a presentation particular to your specific interests.
For more information about scheduling a presentation or workshop, contact Pamela Donison.