Caleb O. Bonm

Caleb Oken-Berg Bonm is a Principal attorney at Skellenger Bender, P.S., where he also serves as the firm’s President. Caleb’s practice focuses exclusively on family law, including divorce/dissolution, domestic partnership issues, complex asset divisions, prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, parenting plan and child support modifications, child custody, parentage actions, and LGBTQ+-specific legal issues. Caleb also assists families with adoption and assisted reproductive technology (ART) legal matters such as donor agreements and surrogacy agreements.

Caleb regularly represents clients in the unique and complex area of international family law, including international child custody issues, divorce with international financial issues, and international jurisdictional matters in the context of family law. Caleb handles international child abduction cases in both state and federal court, including matters involving the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. He also serves as a resource and mentor for attorneys in the area of international child custody issues.

In addition to his representation of family law clients, Caleb serves as a neutral by assisting parties in resolving family law disputes as a mediator and arbitrator. He also serves as a Family Court Commissioner pro tempore in King County Superior Court.

Caleb is admitted to practice in the federal and state courts of Washington, and United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. In 2015, Caleb founded a pro bono family law legal clinic for patients and community members associated with the Sea Mar Community Health Center in the South Park neighborhood of Seattle.

Caleb is a member of the Washington State Bar Association, American Bar Association, King County Bar Association, and the William L. Dwyer Inn of Court in Seattle. He is also past President of Q-Law (LGBTQ+ Bar Association of Washington) and is a member of the National LGBT Bar Association’s Family Law Institute. Caleb is the author of the “Same-Sex Dissolution Issues” chapter of the LexisNexis Washington Family Law Practice Guide. In 2016, Caleb was recognized as one of the 40 Best LGBT Lawyers under 40 in the U.S. by the National LGBT Bar Association, and he has been named a Washington Super Lawyers “Rising Star” every year since 2017.

Memberships & Affiliations:

American Bar Association

Washington State Bar Association

King County Bar Association

Q-Law (LGBTQ+ Bar Association of Washington)

National LGBTQ+ Bar Association

William L. Dwyer Inn of Court

Languages:

French/Français

Spanish/Español

Education:

Seattle University School of Law, Juris Doctor

Pomona College, Bachelor of Arts

Awards & Honors:

Recognized as Washington State SuperLawyers “Rising Star” in 2017-2021

Recognized as one of the 40 Best LBGT Lawyers under 40 in the U.S. by the National LGBT Bar Association in 2016

Admitted to Family Law Institute (FLI) of National LGBT Bar Association in 2013

People on the Move – Puget Sound Business Journal – 2012

People on the Move – Seattle Business Magazine – 2012

Presentations: 

Family Law Mid-Year Hot Topics, Everything You Need to Know About Surrogacy and Assisted Reproduction, Including the New Statute, King County Bar Association, Seattle, 2019

At the Intersection of Family Law and the Rest of the Legal World, LGBT Family Law Issues, Whatcom County Bar Association, Mt. Vernon, Washington, 2018

Family law from Start to Finish, Enforcing the Judgment and Contempt Proceedings, National Business Institute, Seattle, 2017.

Complex Assets in Divorce, Post-Decree Litigation, National Business Institute, Seattle, 2015.

Family Law: Advanced Issues, Unions of Same-Sex and Unmarried Couples, National Business Institute, Seattle, 2014.

Divorce Law: Common Mistakes in Dividing Assets, Inaccurate Valuation of Assets, National Business Institute, Seattle, 2014.

Life After DOMA: Family Law Implications for Washington State, Whatcom County Bar Association CLE, Bellingham, Washington, 2013.

Marriage & Domestic Partnerships in Washington, LGBT Adoption & Alternative Reproduction Issues, LGBT Immigration and Family Law Forum, Seattle, 2012.

Financial Divorce Settlements From Start to Finish, Finding, Valuing, and Dividing Other Assets and Debts, National Business Institute, Seattle, 2011.

Publications:

“Same Sex Dissolution Issues,” LexisNexis Practice Guide Washington Family Law, October 2016.

“Merged: Conversion of Washington Domestic Partnerships to Marriages and Immigration Law,” NW Lawyer, June 2014 (with Andre Olivie).

“Life in a Post-DOMA World,” NW Lawyer, October 2013 (with Elizabeth Hershman-Greven).