BlueStar Services

I believe that the best teacher in life is the experience that we gain from walking our path and experiencing the Sideways that visits us from time to time. Sideways is the effect that events have on our lives that were not in Our Plan. Sideways is how we learn and grow, but we may also have to heal from these events.

Sideways can also create disputes that need to be resolved before we can move forward. BlueStar Mediations is here to help you, for I have directly experienced many events of Sideways.

Our path is never meant to be a straight line.

The MAIN SERVICES provided are:

NEGOTIATIONS – Negotiation is the process of articulating needs and resources in the quest to come to an agreement over processes and resources.

With 35 years of experience in Finance and Management, I am well qualified to negotiate having negotiated many aspects of many business situations. Whomever you choose to negotiate for you, always remember to negotiate in the compliance aspects of the projects.

MEDIATIONS – The process where a mediator guides participants in the resolution of a dispute.

The best teacher is experience. I can offer assistance in many areas.

One of the tricks to a successful mediation as a Participant is the willingness to compromise.

RELATIONSHIP BEGINNINGS – Where Participants have accumulated assets prior to the relationship, or where there are special situations that are sensitive, mediation can assist in crafting agreements to address these issues. This can prevent or minimize conflict later in the relationship if addressed early on.

RELATIONSHIP ENDINGS – I have personally experienced divorce and I know firsthand how bewildering this can be. Relationship endings can easily turn into the Contestations of Everything. In cases where children are present, I will let you know my bias: The Needs of the Children outweigh the Needs of the Adults. Why? Because they didn’t ask to be in the situation (it is similar to a no-voice no-vote scenario). Yet everyone deserves to be heard, and everyone should try to have their needs met as much as possible. I can help structure visitations, custody, division of real property and other assets, and I can do this with the empathy gained from having walked the walk. Your future awaits for you, Mediation can assist you in ‘changing gears’ so to speak and to walk into that new future.

CHILD VISITATION – This can be a difficult situation to work through, but when done correctly, can yield the best possible benefits. Where relationships can be saved, and where interactions are healthy, mutual visitation can be the best situation.

ELDER CARE ISSUES – I have buried three parents and am attending to a dementia situation as well. Random Events occur, and it can be a hard walk. The three main vectors in this topic are 1) the preparation of documents, 2) End-of-Life Care, and 3) the Division of Property if it is not already settled. I can assist in a pre-attorney phase: I cannot advise on legal issues but I can mediatie the discussions that make the legal process simpler. I also have 8 years as the senior financial officer of a Long Term Care Continuing Care Retirement company. I understand Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) and many of the impacts on the elderly person when choosing the next phase of care. I attained a certification as a Retirement Housing Professional.

EMPLOYER EMPLOYEE INTERACTIONS – There are many disputes that can arise from the employer – employee relationship. Contestation over the terms of hiring, employment contracts, personnel improvement plans, and the ending of the employment relationship are many areas where mediation may be useful. Many companies have arbitration agreements now as a condition of hiring, but mediation is also a method that can be used. It is encouraged to consult an attorney should you have issues surrounding employment rights that are guaranteed by Federal or State law, these issues can supersede the arbitration agreement. I have experience being a contractor, employee, manager, and C-Suite officer so I have a broad view of these types of interactions.

PROPERTY DISPUTES – It has been said in the past that ‘Fences Make Good Neighbors’…until they don’t. Property disputes can arise from fence-line placement, to repeated trespass violations, to barking dogs and excessive noise, to foul smells like gasoline and oil. There are times when neighbors don’t adhere to zoning requirements (such as setback requirements), or they open a business in a residential area. In this area, the damage caused by falling trees can create a huge property dispute. Property is difficult because there can be so many layers of agreements and covenants such as rights of way, or, in our area, Native American treaties. It can be hard for one owner to know all issues, as some issues are left off accidentally from the Property’ listing of Deed Restrictions. Court cases may take several years..try mediation to help solve the issue.

RENTAL AGREEMENTS – Mediation has been shown to be very effective in working with landlord and tenant disputes, whether it is the amount of a rental increase, the ability to extend the rents, handling non-payments and evictions, or the return of a security deposit.

CREATIVE PROPERTY RIGHTS (books, music, etc) – The glamour of the creative issuance, the excitement of creation, and the lust to publish: creative artists can push past the business impacts of agreements that they make with publishers. For example, you want to publish a song. The big retailer says that they will pay you $3.00 for every song sold, and you click all the boxes for all the retailers. However, many streaming services pay $0.01 per play. Part of this is learning the business, but part of this is making sure that you receive a fair-share.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS – T&Cs, those blanket requirements that are hard to read through or that weren’t bargained for in the original agreement, but that sometimes become eroded through blanket terms.

MORTGAGE AND BANKING – While BlueStar Mediation does not offer financial advice, it can assist in foreclosure, term changes, and changes due to ownership of the assets. Depending on the circumstances, assets invested in a bank are the property of the bank and the account holder is a general creditor. Mediation looks at each asset to see how it should be properly handled, and the mediator may work in tandem with a Certified Financial Planner or a Certified Public Accountant. Terms to know for the future: a bail-out of a bank is where the bank fails and the government covers the depositors and losses, and a bail-in of a bank is where the bank fails and the account holders lose a part or all of their accounts to cover the bank’s losses (2010 Dodd Frank Act).

PUBLIC POLICY – Mediation can assist the public in working with public agencies. A popular one for the Cascade region is timber lands management. There are a variety of issues where mediation can be used to guide public policies and the agencies that carry out these policies. This can include Federal, State, Regional, and Local Governments.

SPEAKING FOR THOSE WHO CAN’T ADVOCATE FOR THEMSELVES – this can include elder care issues as well as guardian / child issues. This is a broad topic in how mediation can assist with these situations.

OTHER – Other situations with which mediation can provide assistance are personal injury, small business disputes, breaches of contract, housing and impaired access, and many other issues.