Complex divorce and domestic partnership breakups can easily run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars for legal fees and forensics, and they take years to resolve. Even cases that should be simple can dial themselves out of control.

For many people litigated outcomes are the only choice they have, particularly where one or both is so hurt or angry or even self-focused that they prefer to pay money over to lawyers rather allowing their spouse or partner to move on with their lives.

At LAFMS we offer a unique blend of professional experience and dedication, and our intention is allow you to mix and match our "Mediation Mission Impossible Team" as best suits your family's needs. Led by a retired judge who exclusively handled a spectrum of family law matters ranging from those that were high profile and of daunting complexity to heartfelt concerns of poverty level couples (Hon. Gretchen W. Taylor), and joined by a psychologist who so impressed Alec Baldwin with her compassion and insight that he dedicated a chapter in his book to her (Dr. Jane Ellen Shatz), one of the top forensic accountants in California in the area of business valuations, tracings, and property characterizations (Terry M. Hargrave), a Certified Family Law Specialist who has become an important contributor to the philosophical and educational movement that is family law peacemaking (Thurman W. Arnold, III), and two wonderfully articulate marriage and family therapists (Karen Horwitz and David Hayes) who are the forefront of the parent shadow and developmental issues for children of divorce, Los Angeles Family Mediation Services promises creative and holistic solutions that can sensitively and competently respond to every family's background and needs.