Family Law

My preference is to work with clients who sincerely wish to utilize my experience and skills to restructure their lives in as reasonable and cost effective a manner as possible.

• Mediation/Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)

• Child Abuse
• Domestic Violence
• Sexual Abuse

• Child Support
• Custody
• Paternity
• Visitation

• Civil Unions
• Domestic Partnerships
• Living Together/Cohabitation
• Marriage
• Power of Attorney
• Prenuptial & Postnuptial Agreements

Divorce

My preference is to work with clients who sincerely wish to utilize my experience and skills to restructure their lives in as reasonable and cost effective a manner as possible.

• Alimony/Palimony/Spousal Support
• Annulment

CA, Dec 1990
Bar Number: 150097

California, 1990
U.S. District Court Central District of California, 1992

California State Bar Association

Although I previously fulfilled my continuing education hours through teaching Community Property at the Southern California Institute of Law, I now frequently attend conferences put on by the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals or its California affiliate.

I represented the mother in re Marriage of Williams (2001) 88 Cal. App. 4th 808, which stands for the proposition that a family law court may enter an order which has the effect of separating siblings only when compelling circumstances dictate that such a separation is in the children's best interest, and that it must articulate those circumstances in a manner that permits meaningful appellate review. The trial court's order, providing that the oldest and youngest of four children would live in Utah with the mother, and that the remaining two children would live in Santa Barbara with the father, was overturned .

1

California

My firm is focused on providing the full range of mediation, collaborative practice, and litigation alternatives to resolving difficult property, custody, and support disputes in a reasonable and cost effective manner.

I have been providing family law and estate planning services since 1992. I taught community property at the Southern California Institute of Law for ten years. In 2000, I obtained extensive training in mediation and in 2003 I expanded my practice to include collaboraative family law.

I worked for the local firm of Mullen & Henzell from 1990 until I opened my own practice in 1992. While with Mullen & Henzell, I gained experience in business law, tax planning, land use, water law, appellate practice, and general civil litigation.

Wistosis "Willie" Parker

(805) 963-1997

Monday - Friday
8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

No

No

When serving as a mediator, I charge a flat fee of $300 (or $325 if children are involved), for the preparation of the Judicial Counsel forms necessary to file and complete the court proceeding. All other services are performed on an hourly basis.

$275 an hour.

I waive the fee for the first half our of our initial consultation in both the mediation and attorney context. Initial consultations in the mediation context are generally performed with both clients present, they last no more than a half hour, and are generally devoted to defining the mediation process and my roll as a mediator. Initial consultations in the attorney context usually last an hour and a half (and therefore cost $275 at my current hourly rate) and are designed to help you identify your highest needs and goals, as well as to identify the process options most likely to achieve those goals.

I do not charge a retainer for mediation services. I typically charge a retainer of $3,000 to $5,000 for collaborative practice and litigation services, depending upon the individual circumstances of the case.