Kia Ora – Hello
I am Kelly from Wellington, Aotearoa, New Zealand.
I have been separated and divorced for 10 years and have three teenagers with my ex-husband. We have a successful new relationship where we co-parent effectively and still own and operate a large nationwide business together. The transition from being a couple to working together constructively as individuals and co-parents took a lot of time and hard work, first to remove the emotions and second to get on with the business of divorce. Through the process, we continued to work on our communication, our shared interests for our business, and our children’s future. I now wish to share my personal experience and, knowledge gained from training as a CDC-certified divorce coach and an accredited mediator to help others achieve an amicable divorce.
I am a lawyer, an accredited mediator, and a certified divorce coach.
I specialize in working with men and women coming out of long-term relationships who are fearful of facing an uncertain future and the prospect of untangling joint assets. I help relieve the stress they are feeling, save significant time and money, and preserve the relationships that are most important to them.
As a mediator, I know the importance of participants being prepared emotionally and mentally with clearly outlined goals and strategies for mediation. I specialize in pre-mediation coaching to ensure my clients are armed with effective communication strategies, clarified wants, needs, and concerns, and good decision-making principles and practices to achieve their goals.
As a divorce coach, I work with clients collaboratively to help them navigate “their divorce” and manage the stress, fear, loneliness, and conflict inherent in this process. My approach is one of emotional support, information, education, and equipping clients with tools necessary for making the best possible decisions for their future.
Through supportive guidance and personal coaching, I can help you with:
- Managing the emotions and stress associated with divorce and the divorce process.
- Identifying the best legal process for you to use based upon your individual needs, wants, and concerns.
- Developing and clarifying achievable goals and crafting a plan to take action to move forward with courage and confidence successfully.
- Getting YOUR divorce sorted in a timely and cost-effective manner and avoiding the common mistakes and roadblocks. Ensuring your case is managed tightly, your divorce team is held accountable and you avoid unnecessary high legal costs by being better informed and prepared.
- Understanding the financial impact of divorce and the steps necessary to become a confident financial decision-maker for you and your family.
- Developing the confidence and strategies to make good decisions to ensure a solid relationship property settlement that meets your future goals.
- Developing a co-parenting strategy that is supportive and focused on the best interests of your children.
- Redefining yourself as an individual moving into a positive new chapter of your life.
“The best power you have is what you can do for yourself”
My Divorce Coaching Services are not limited by geographic location. While I do face-to-face coaching at my offices, most are scheduled virtually via Zoom for video conferencing or by phone, depending on individual needs and availability.
Services include monthly coaching packages, individual sessions, and program-specific plans:
- Monthly coaching packages include a number of 60-minute coaching sessions with intermittent text, email, and phone support in between sessions
- Individual 75- 90 minute sessions for urgent coaching requirements
- Program-specific separation/divorce plans and Pre Mediation Divorce Coaching Plans
(please contact me on +6421360233 or email kelly@sossuccessltd.com or kellydonenesutton@gmail.com for details)
Services I provide include:
- Deciding to separate/divorce
– eyes wide open
– relationship mediation – enriching togetherness through constructive communication, problem-solving, and conflict resolution strategies - Moving past the sense of overwhelm and fear in separation/divorce
- Divorce decisions, goals, and actions
- Getting organized for separation/divorce
- Financial impact and awareness – before, during, and after divorce
- Assembling your divorce team and utilizing professionals effectively
- Preparing for Mediation or Settlement Discussions
- Pre Mediation Divorce Coaching
- Effective Communication strategies
- Conflict Coaching
- Effective Co-Parenting
- Post Divorce support
Bachelor of Law, LLB
Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand
PGDipBus (Dispute Resolution)
Accredited Mediator – AMINZ, Resolution Institute
Family Dispute Resolution Provider – Resolution Institute
CDC Divorce Coach
CDC Certified Divorce Recovery and Transition Coach
DCA Certified Pre Mediation Divorce Coach
New Zealand Law Society
New Zealand Family Law Section
AMINZ (Arbitrator and Mediator Institute of New Zealand)
Resolution Institute (New Zealand and Australia)
National Council of Women of New Zealand
Business and Professional Women New Zealand
Venus Network for New Zealand Women in Business
I have been a lawyer for over 20 years in New Zealand, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Upon my return to New Zealand, my then-husband and I bought a medical and quarantine waste management business which we grew from a small business to a nationwide business. My now ex-husband and I still run this business together and successfully co-parent our three teenage children.
As a child of divorce, raised solely by my father, I learned first-hand the importance of maintaining a relationship with both parents. I am also acutely aware of the effect divorce has on men and their essential role as fathers.
I am a lawyer, an accredited mediator, a relationship mediator, a family dispute resolution practitioner, and a CDC-certified divorce coach and divorce recovery and transition coach. I also specialize in Pre-Mediation divorce coaching to help clients prepare, plan for, and confidently navigate and engage in the divorce mediation process through individualized support and skill-building.
As a mediator, I work with couples to facilitate positive custody outcomes that put the children first. I help them create solid relationship property settlements that meet each participant’s future needs and interests. My job is to be independent and unbiased and help couples identify their issues, gain a better understanding of each other’s perspectives, and find potential solutions that work for them.
I added Divorce Coaching and Pre-Mediation Divorce Coaching to my practice after recognizing the need to prepare clients emotionally and mentally with clearly outlined goals and strategies so they can participate in the mediation effectively, confidently, and with the courage to achieve their desired goals. I have seen so many people in mediation still stuck in their story, making ill-informed, emotionally driven decisions that lead to years of ongoing conflict, regret, and increased financial and legal costs.
Divorce is one of the most difficult, stressful, and lonely processes you can go through. It affects the whole family and those around you. The advantage of having an independent thinking partner, skilled at asking the questions that tease out the answers that are hard to focus on during the often-tumultuous process, is that there is continuity for you in the planning process from the very beginning and into your next chapter. Being prepared with the answers to these questions will place you in a much better position to help your divorce team understand what your needs are so all can bring those priorities into the negotiations. Furthermore, I want to help you find new strengths from the experience and have the confidence and courage to thrive in your new post-divorce reality.
“Kelly has been an invaluable source of support, information, and
(informal) advice for me and others while we were going through separations and
divorces. I have no doubt that Kelly would be an extremely professional and effective
divorce coach, and that her experience thus far – including as a mediator – will stand
her in good stead to best help her clients.”
K.E. Carden
Legal Counsel
I offer a 45-minute complimentary discovery session.
This is an opportunity for both us of to get to know each other better and for you to discover how I can meet your personal goals and needs in terms of coaching. We can do this via:
Phone: +64 21 360 233
Email: kelly@sossuccessltd.com or kellydonenesutton@gmail.com
Zoom: Arrange via email address.
Use the form below to request your complimentary session.
