FAQs
- What should the customer know about your pricing (e.g., discounts, fees)?
Virtual mediation via Zoom is $125/hour/party. There is a 2-hour minimum on any booking and we will take your credit card information by phone to pay at the end of the session. Most clients prefer virtual mediation because it's more convenient and you can be in a setting where you are comfortable and avoid any interaction with the other party. We fill in all your required family law forms during mediation so at the end you are ready to sign and file. If you just need to mediate specific pieces of your divorce or co-parenting agreement, two hours may suffice. However, if you need to debate your entire divorce settlement and handle financial and co-parenting issues, we recommend booking at least 4-6 hours. Mediation can also be broken up into more than one day. We round up billing time to the nearest half-hour, so if you book 2 hours and your session actually takes 2 hours and 45-minutes, you’ll pay for 3-hours total. For pro se clients we collect a $125 deposit upfront (from both parties) to hold your mediation session date/time, and the remainder will be collected at the end of the mediation. All clients may pay online with a credit or debit card, or via Venmo @pondfamilymediation, or in-person with any major credit or debit card (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover). As mediation is typically split, each party should be prepared to pay for their half of the mediation at the end of the session with a credit or debit card. The fee is inclusive of the face-to-face time we spend together (virtual or in-person) and the document preparation if it can be completed during the session. If you both agree to the terms of your settlement during mediation, once that portion of the session is concluded and my obligation as your neutral mediator is finished, I can assist you in completing the required documents and family law forms you'll need to file your case so at the end you'll be all done! For pro se cases, we may charge 1-4 additional hours for the preparation of the Mediated Settlement if it is longer or more complicated than usual and requires extra time. This will be billed after mediation and must be paid in full before the Mediated Settlement is delivered. In most cases, however, the settlement will be finished and delivered the same day as your session. All cases also require a $100 administrative fee for the prep pre-mediation and the two-hour minimum applies.
- What is your typical process for working with a new customer?
We will do a brief phone consultation and then schedule your mediation. Once confirmed we send you a mediation agreement to sign and a release form. We hold mediation sessions virtually via Zoom or at either parties’ attorneys’ office. Mediation is conducted in two separate rooms so that each party can have their own space and privacy for negotiations and consultation with counsil and the mediator.
- What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
Danielle Pond is a Florida Supreme Court Certified Family Mediator, certificate #39929 F. She also holds an MA in Communications, and has completed Florida’s required family mediation training program, supervised mediation sessions, and she is currently working towards an MS in Marriage and Family Therapy which will be completed in September of 2023. However, she is not an attorney and cannot offer legal advice.