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I was born and spent the first 6 years of my life in St. Paul. When I was 3, my parents divorced. Thereafter, my father rarely spent time with my sister and me or paid child support.
When I was 6, my mom married a Navy submariner. He adopted me, with my biofather's permission. Then, my family moved to Groton, Connecticut, then Satellite Beach, Florida, then Newport News, Virginia, and back to CT because my adoptive-father was stationed at Navy bases there. I was always on the Honor Roll and played soccer, basketball, and softball and was a flag twirler in the band for the first 3 years. Starting in the summer after my junior year, I worked as a waitress 30 hours per week to earn money to buy a car when I went to college and pay for car insurance and gas on my parents' beater car.
In 1995, I earned a B.A. in Political Science Public Service with a minor in Legal Studies at Hamline University, with a 3.74 g.p.a. I was on the Mock Trial Team. I also interned in MN Senate, learning a lot about taxes, energy and environmental policy, education, transportation, and utilities.
In 2009, I earned my Paralegal Certificate at Hamline University. I interned in business, real estate, estate, and probate law at Dougherty, Molenda, Solfest, Hills, & Bauer. I graduated summa cum laude.
I have provided volunteer services to the community in a variety of ways. First, I volunteered on the Cottage Grove Human Services Human Rights Commission from 2004 to 2016, with a break from 2009 to 2011 as a result of redoing my life after my late-husband Karl died. I was the Vice Chair from 2013 to 2016. The City disbanded the group in 2016.
Second, I volunteered for Beyond The Yellow Ribbon Network of Cottage Grove Steering Committee from 2011 to 2014. I had a variety of duties. In Spring of 2011, I was the leader of the silent auction for a spaghetti dinner fundraiser, our first fundraiser. In Summer 2013, I brought to Cottage Grove The Echoes of War presentation, which is an eye opening presentation about the long-term emotional and physical effects of combat on military members, i.e. post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI). Lastly, I was 1 of the managers of the organization's Facebook page.
Third, I was the lead volunteer at God's Closet on the first Saturday of the month from 2006 to 2014. It's a charity in East St. Paul that provides free clothes, household goods, books, and toys to low-income people who live near the area.
I've been a member of The Grove United Methodist Church in Woodbury and Cottage Grove more on than off since I moved to Cottage Grove in 2004. I currently praise God and learn more about The Bible and applying it to life at the Cottage Grove campus.
I dated and then was married to my late-husband Karl from 1993 to 2009. He unexpectedly died of a heart attack at age 39 due to heredity.
As a result, I've been the only parent to our son Alexander, 26 in March of 2024, and our daughter Megan, 20 in March of 2024, for 14 years.
Alexander was a member of AGC for 1 year. He died of an accidental Fentanyl overdose on Nov. 30, 2020 after many years of fighting mental health and chemical dependency issues, and then becoming blind in Nov. 2019, and then the COVID-19 pandemic restricting his ability to socialize and get help with navigating his new blindness.
Megan is working part-time, going to college part-time, and working on her mental health.
My partner is Lonnie Bishop. We met on a dating website in January 2023. We've been inseparable since he moved to be close to me in February 2023. We got engaged on December 1. He moved into my house in February. We're marrying in June 2026.
Through ChristieLegal, I provide efficient, affordable, and friendly paralegal and mediator services in family law - divorce and child custody - to people who live in MN.
I inform client(s) about the laws and processes involved in handling a divorce or child custody case, attempt to help them reach agreements on all of the issues, if necessary, refer them to an attorney for legal advice, write their court documents, and help them through the court process.
My paralegal and mediator services fee for helping folks through the entire divorce or child custody case process is $165 per hour. My paralegal and mediator services fee for helping folks with child custody matters after the initial child custody order is $195 per hour. My fee for divorce and/or child custody mediation services only is $225 per hour. My deposit for paralegal and mediator services is $1,000 to $2,000, depending upon the complexity of the case. The down payment for mediation service only is the cost of the number of hours of mediation that the parties would like to participate in, with a minimum of 2 hours. I give a 10% discount to military members, law enforcement and corrections officers, firefighters, EMTs, mental health care providers and drug and alcohol addiction counselors, teachers, and social workers, and veterans of those careers, and low-income folks (both parties earn under $40k per year).
I work for folks who live in all parts of MN.
I want to network with people who often find out that their clients want to divorce before the client has contacted a legal professional, including mortgage loan officers, real estate agents, financial advisors, psychologists, life coaches, and c.p.a.s.
a person or people who needs a divorce or to handle a child custody issue, and at least 1 of the parties lives in MN. I'll sort through who I can help, and then refer folks who I cannot help to a few attorneys who I've vetted.
