Katherine Elinor Stoner

Katherine Stoner ordered a custodial evaluation for my family about 6 years ago. She had been hired as a private judge for my divorce. My ex-husband's attorneys recommended her and I blindly accepted. I had no idea how bad things were going to get. After a two year and over 100 page comprehensive... evaluation by a very reputable evaluator in Marin County, the judge was faced with something she was uncomfortable with. The evaluator strongly recommended that I have full legal custody and primary physical custody. This particular evaluator is well known for erring on the side of 50/50 unless the children are in serious harms way. I need to say that this comprehensive process included full psycological evaluations for every member of our family. Judge Stoner then ordered a shortened evaluation. This did not include psycological evaluations, only home visits. After both of these evaluations and a lengthy trial, the evidence strongly pointed towards the children being mentally unsafe under father and stepmother's care. Despite all evidence, Katherine Stoner ruled to keep the status quo. I cried and she said " pull it together, you are stronger than you think." All of the professionals in the case were shocked by the outcome. She wrote some uninforcable orders (take note--family laws are hard to uphold) and strongly recommended that my ex take parenting tips from me. She put me in charge of " safety", whatever that means. He was then able to further use his wealth to manipulate the system for years. Being "strong" was never a concern of mine. My only concern was for my children. Everything and more that the custody evaluator warned would happen, has happened. She was brave. Custody evaluators often get sued for their decision making. Again, Stoner was a private judge in our case. My ex had the money and paid her bills. I was cautioned by our co-parent counselor before the evaluation to think twice about what it may do to our family. I did and asked her to stop the evaluation. She said my ex wanted it and she ordered it. She didn't expect what she read. I'm not saying that she expected me to lose custody. in fact, I believe she expected a 50/50 ruling with some slaps on the wrists for my ex. My children's childhood was stolen by Judge Stoner. I am strong, remarried and do as much as I can to protect them. So much damage has been done and continues daily, that there is only so much anyone can do at this stage. Unless your case is very simple and falls within Judge Stoner's narrow world view, I warn you against hiring her. We've had a string of professionals cleaning up her mess for years. None of them can believe the outcome she ordered. She may be a good mediator, but I have never experienced such bad decision making in my life. I have never entered a review online or anywhere else. This is a warning. Ps- this system would not allow me to submit without entering at least one star. Otherwise, I wouldn't have given her one.