Linda Ayn Schofel

Linda Schofel became our parenting coordinator about a year and a half ago, after my ex-wife and I had been back to court a number of times for post-judgment motions. She has been fantasitc. She has helped us resolve each dispute. On the rare occasions when we could not agree, Ms. Schofel has made a... thoughtful recommendation giving us her rationale. She is intelligent, caring, sincere, fair minded, prepared, available, non-judgmental and more. In my opinion, her working with 2 people with totallly different personalities and perspectives of the same situations is not easy. I think her legal and mental health experience is what is special about her skills. Since working with Ms. Schofel, we have not been back to court. It's far less expensive than having our attorneys fight over every parenting issue. She's unbiased with regard to mom or dad. But, she is clearly biased toward the well-being of our 3 childen. I recommend her highly as a parenting coordinator.

I will update my #rating after my process. I am just starting off utilising Linda. I found some things to be off but since I am not familiar with the process i wanted to ask others some questions. Did you feel she was prepared in having read ALL the information you gave her to support your side? I ha...d provided her great detail that my biggest concern was my children and my ex's aggression towards me AND them. When we discussed a situation regarding the police, her response was that I should call HER in the future NOT the police. I found this baffling since i INCLUDED the police report where they note he was screaming at the officers, needed to confirm i had security in the home, etc.... Is this common practice for a parent coordinator to recommend avoiding the police even when in fear and to call them instead? The biggest reason I am utilising her is to minimise my children being in environment that I feel is unhealthy and hostile(i also supported this with several 3rd party opinionS-texts, emails from my children's professionals). Other comments have been made that lead me to believe she may not have fully read my side. Thoughts? She is lovely and pleasant. But- does she do her diligence and remain fair? This raised a red flag for me.

Linda is a gift to the Family Law profession! The nature of what she does as a Parenting Coordinator (in highly contentious, emotionally charged situations) means her clients will, at times, be temporarily unhappy with her. Frequently one parent is going to walk out of the room upset. Yet – almost... without you realizing it in the moment – she is deftly navigating treacherous waters and striking an amazing balance. She does this by understanding both parties’ perspectives and working to find win-win-wins (you, your ex, and the children). Over time, you will start to see the wisdom of her ways and realize that she is working her magic. Eventually everyone ends up in a much healthier place. I speak from experience; her help in our situation has been absolutely invaluable! Our divorce, and even post-divorce, was a stressful maelstrom with multiple court battles, custody evaluations, police intervention, etc. Then the court ordered us to work with Linda and, with her involvement, the healing began. It took some time, but we have now “graduated” for we no longer require her services. She taught us how to have a professional – and even healthy – co-parenting relationship. However, the biggest beneficiary of Linda’s wisdom and compassion is the children. Ironically, they will probably never meet her or know who she is. However, there is no doubt that their lives have been dramatically improved because of this “guardian angel.” Our children unknowingly owe Linda a world of gratitude. If you need a Parenting Coordinator, there’s no one better than Linda. She is compassionate, insightful, knowledgeable, experienced, and cares deeply about the children – for whom she is the true (and biggest) advocate.

Linda has been my court appointed parenting coordinator for nearly 10 years. Unfortunately, it was necessary to engage her services multiple times to sort out parenting issues. Linda always has the child's best interest front and center. She is attentive, accessible, balanced and creative in findi...ng compromises. She has dealt with adversity and difficulty professionally and objectively. I highly recommend Linda without reservation.