California Divorce Mediation

Divorce sucks. It just does. But luckily having a steady hand to steward you through the complicated process makes it possible to get through. David is a natural — thoughtful, empathetic, fair and efficient. It was a pleasure working with him during a very challenging time.

My ex who is a lawyer and I have been seeing David over the stretch of 4 years since neither me or my ex has have the time to pursue our divorce. Whenever we were in disagreement of our divorce related issues, we went to see David. With David’s guidance and advise we’ve always managed to get the issue resolved.
David is fair, honest, calm, knowledgeable and just a nice lawyer. Maybe that’s why he’s a mediator and not a divorce lawyer! I’d love to have a chance to recommend David to my friends and relatives as he deserves such referrals.
KDJ

David’s warm calm, professional, and empathetic temperament helped put me at ease in a setting that is oft-​perceived as cold and calculating. My first contact to him was over the phone, when I first heard his warm and empathetic voice that is evenly matched in person. An attorney who prefaces the first meeting by saying «I am sorry that you are here today,» puts himself on the same wavelength as his clients. His goal is to be mediator and attorney, while being completely fair to both sides. He helps illustrate financial information specific to the client in an understandable format, is extremely well-​versed in family law, clearly interprets matters of spousal support and child support for families in unique divorce situations, and offers unrestricted time outside of meetings to answer questions, even on weekends /​holidays /​late evenings. During a time when my mind was racing, I was not always prepared with a handy list of questions to ask at each mediation meeting. David always responded promptly and fully to my voicemail and e-​mail messages.
Where choices of attorneys and divorce situations are in oversupply, I would highly recommend you contact David and request a consultation. I would further urge you to reduce your burdens in what is already a very difficult time and allow David to guide you in the process where you are still in charge and yet fed with the most complete law. You will leave his office feeling empowered, informed, and grounded.

David Magnuson performed the mediation of our divorce and did so in a timely fashion despite his wife giving birth right in the middle of things. He was super conscious of costs to us and had helpful suggestions to took actions to minimize our cost at every opportunity. He was knowledgeable and calm. He kept us talking and getting to agreements and consensus. He was a fair arbitrator, a patient explainer, and a clearly experienced and hard-​working professional who clearly put our mutual interests at the forefront of priority. He has had the life and law experience to know all that we had been through, and provided a steady hand to guide us through. David walked us through calculations, has given us updates as incomes have changed, and provided us with spreadsheets to help us calculate things for ourselves going foward, or has referred us to knowledgeable professionals for specific scenarios like 401k quasar adjustment if he wasn’t an expert on it.
At the time of this writing, I see that David’s firm has 22 5-​star ratings and 1 1-​star rating. I guess he doesn’t need my extra 5-​star rating, but he’s got it anyways. David, thank you so much.

My ex and I can’t say enough GREAT things about David. If you don’t want a contentious, expensive and painful divorce, mediation and David are most definitely the way to go. David allowed us to both express our feelings, questions, concerns and calmly kept both of us at the table. He would always explain how the court would view a situation and then let us decide how we wanted to handle something within the general confines of the law. He kept on reminding us that it was OUR contract to write. I always felt David was fair to both sides. We only needed 2 ½ sessions and the whole process, including waiting on the courts, took only 6 months.

This will be my first review on Unilocal.I guess it’s my way of saying THANK YOU to Mr. David Magnuson for working with us through the entire process of our divorce. He really made it easier for us.
If you are looking for someone that can help you with the process and guide you with it. someone that will stay calm while both of you (referring to your spouse) are yelling at each other… someone that will really stand as a mediator and will listen to each other’s side and will let you know about the law and the process, HE IS THE RIGHT PERSON TO GO TO.
Divorce is not easy and will never be easy to deal with. Trust me, he wasn’t the first one i spoke to. I had coaching from other lawyers and mediators and it is just a waste of money. Then I turned to Unilocal and was impressed with the good reviews that I’ve read about Mr. David Magnuson. So I gave it a try and I am glad that I did. When he said that he will really help you with the process, he means it and YOU CAN DEPEND ON HIM.
He made it easier from the time we did our consultation to the time that we are done with the divorce. He never fails to update us. He was on it and there was no delay at all. He didn’t charge me extra for this or that. He will explain the fees to you and there are really no other hidden fees.
I know divorce can be expensive but if you want to avoid spending «too much» money, just go to Mr. David Magnuson. I believe his fees are just right for the incredible services that he is providing.
Thank you for staying calm for us. If I can give more than 5 stars, I would. I would highly «highly» recommended him for couples who are undergoing divorce. Just do a mediation and do it with Mr. David Magnuson.

David is kind, professional, calm, genuine and an angel. At a time when my family went through the most stressful time in our lives, David’s guidance was truly appreciated.
David promptly responded to emails and phone calls even when he is on vacation.
David provides an atmosphere of kindness and consideration, and at such low-​cost. His services have made it possible for our entire family to move forward with peace and dignity. I highly recommend David and his book ‘Divorce for Grown-​ups’. Since I have been to David I had many friends go through divorce and most of them started using David and have not regretted one bit. Good Luck to you all out there.

I came onto Unilocal to write my recommendation for David Magnuson, as he did such a great job for me and my ex-​husband April 2013-​August 2013. We found him on Unilocal and I wanted to return the favor. It doesn’t surprise me to see so many good reviews still here for him. I agree with ALL of the five star comments.
David truly makes the experience of divorce bearable. From initial contact to follow ups for addendums, and revisits to alimony that you’ll need long after the divorce paperwork is signed, David is responsive, incredibly humble, comforting and does a fantastic job. His rates are also very reasonable.
I have no hesitations whatsoever highly recommending him to anyone who finds themselves in need of a divorce mediator. Truly 10 out of 10!

I recently had the opportunity to work with David, and based on my experience, I can tell you that he is just as good as all of the other positive reviews indicate. He is calm (incredibly so, given the volatility of what we discussed), levelheaded, fair, intelligent, personable, savvy and genuine. He is great at diffusing tense situations, and he does so with a quiet ease that is comforting and effective.
I also appreciated that David’s billing is unquestionably fair. He was crystal clear about what I needed to pay him and when, and he never hit me with a «surprise» itemized bill. My friends who have gone through divorces with attorneys have all complained about the ridiculous bills that land like clockwork in their mailboxes. One was billed $ 80 for each email devoted to scheduling the next appointment! David skips the nonsense, thankfully, and keeps it simple. He never asked for a retainer, and he simply had us pay at the end of each meeting.
I can imagine that everyone that walks into David’s office comes dragging a truckload of emotional baggage behind them. It’s a divorce, after all. Keeping discussions focused is something that David showed that he does well. While I am sure that there are some couples that are simply unreachable, couples that no mediator can help, if anyone can pull it off, I would put my money on David. I don’t envy the man, but he has a talent, and I am glad he shares it with the rest of us.
Let’s be honest, a mediator whose first comment is «I’m sorry that you’re here» is on the right track. Divorce is an awful life event, and it’s really nice to know that the person who is helping you through the process really and truly understands that basic fact. David gets it. That much was clear from day one.
Anyway, here’s my advice to you. If you find yourself facing a divorce and aren’t sure what approach to take, give David a call. Just don’t expect him to meet with you alone initially. I tried this, and he won’t do it. He’ll want to sit down with the two of you at the same time and explain the basics.

I called and left a message almost two weeks ago and never received a call back. Quite disturbing considering what I’m going through. Too bad really…

This review is a long time coming.
I went through a divorce two years ago. Wanting to be adults about it, my ex and I decided on mediation instead of a long drawn out court proceeding. I had a somewhat complicated financial situation since I owned a business and my ex worked for my business.
We came to David through his Unilocal reviews and I’m so happy I did. I do not envy his job. He is part attorney, part mediator, part negotiator, part therapist and 100% amazing.
He was able to digest our financials, make suggestions about what would be fair, all the while being mindful of the stresses that each of us were going through at the time. When things got emotional, he was the calming force in the room and allowed us to move through whatever the issue was at hand.
In the end, it was a very fair resolution where both sides felt good about the outcome. I have highly recommended David to anyone I have heard about who is getting a divorce as he is as good as it gets.

I didn’t want to get divorced. I wanted to do whatever it took to make things right in my marriage. Sadly, if the other person does not feel the same way, you don’t want to be with someone who does not want to be with you. So in that case, what do you do? On the upside, we both knew we had to put our children first and that we wanted to part ways as reasonably as possible. David translated that into the legal documents needed to allow us to achieve what we felt made sense.
Every step of the way David was there to make things clear and to point out pitfalls from his wealth of experience in dealing with divorce issues. How he manages to deal with this every day without losing his mind is beyond me.
Luckily for me… and for you, he does manage to do it without losing his mind.
Face it, divorce sucks. In one way or another, we have all failed in making the most important commitment in our lives survive and thrive. So take a deep breath and get on with what you have to do. Then, give David a call and he will help you avoid all the little items that can turn what is already a failed situation into a rational, compassionate and considered parting of the ways.

Obviously going through a divorce is a stressful time in a person’s life, so finding David was perfect, as David couldn’t have done a better job of managing a person through the process. Prior to selecting him I had done some research online and felt overwhelmed by the number of resources and conflicting information that I was finding. David’s website nicely laid out the process and the finances, so there really were no surprises.
He was incredibly responsive to the many questions by email, by phone, and in-​person. His table-​side manner was perfect — very calming and professional. He made a very difficult/​challenging/​uncomfortable situation smooth.
Divorce is tough for many reasons, but I would highly recommend David to anyone who is looking for mediation.

David is kind, knowledgeable, professional and caring. He patiently answered all of our questions and was able to provide us with the best legal support during a hard time. His fees are very reasonable and I would recommend his services to anyone who is considering mediation.

David is knowledgeable, professional and courteous. His office is quiet and calming. David makes the unpleasant experience of divorce goes as fair, smooth and swift as possible. He always answers my questions via emails promptly. At a time when you are riding on an emotion roller coaster, not having to worry about the logistics of filing a divorce is a tremendous help!

David is an excellent choice as a mediator if your divorce is amicable. While we knew there weren’t going to be lawyers and a prolonged litigation process, the documentation required for a divorce is still confusing. David is very knowledgeable about the process and was able to answer all of our numerous questions. He was able to provide us a level of assurance and comfort in dealing with the challenges of divorce. David was also very transparent and upfront about everything including his fees. I highly recommend David for divorce mediation.

If you are going through a divorce and you can agree to do it amicably, look no further than David Magnuson. He is both an extremely competent lawyer, and a very empathetic mediator. His book (which he will give to each of you in your first consultation session) is a very pragmatic look at divorce. I cannot recommend him highly enough.

David is knowledgeable, professional, calm, clear and kind. At a time when my husband and I were at such odds, it was such a gift to find a lawyer that I liked so well and trusted.
I never seemed to be able to come up with questions during our mediation sessions, so I found myself sending a litany of emails to David. David promptly responded to every request with a detailed answer. One night I got a reply within an hour of an email I sent after midnight.
David provides an atmosphere of kindness and consideration, and at such low-​cost. His services have made it possible for our entire family to move forward with peace and dignity.

David is a true professional that seeks to efficiently navigate the challenges of divorce. His attention to detail and his demonstrated ability to achieve a fair outcome distinguishes his practice from a protracted litigated process.
If faced with a divorce, consider mediation with David.

This is an overdue rave…
David Magnuson delivers. He’s a rare breed: has integrity, is diplomatic, efficient & compassionate. He gets a tricky job done effectively.
When I sought his service, I already knew I didn’t have to go through an ugly divorce. Its hard to be the initiator but life is what it is — the first step is easier when you have proper guidance. Thankfully our situation was simple but still, the legal process is far from simple.
Using CA Divorce Mediation made sense to save money, time, headache and working with a mediation attorney who honors integrity & reasonable pricing vs. the classic 2 dueling attorneys. He seemed most appealing financially & the do-​it-​yourself days are over if you live in California.
I’d recommend his services to anyone who values making a dissolution as effortless as possible. There’s nothing glorious about divorce, but taking the mediator route is sensible.
He’s worth the drive, he makes the time & quite frankly, he’s a damn good person. Had a couple consults elsewhere & didn’t feel the same level of comfort. I was confident he was the right choice. His energy is calm, his office is convenient and he’s trustworthy. You’ll deduce that for yourself from your first meeting. Don’t look elsewhere. This is not the subject I would typically Unilocal about but David Magnuson went above and beyond and is worth the public praise.
At least my ex & I agreed on that fact!