Mariette Geldenhuys

Mariette Geldenhuys is a collaborative attorney and mediator at Geldenhuys Law in Ithaca, New York. She works on divorce, custody, support, adoption, LGBTQ+ family law, domestic partnerships, and legal matters involving assisted reproduction. Her practice also includes wills, trusts, and estates. She helps people address sensitive family issues through collaborative law and mediation, emphasizing decisions shaped by the families involved rather than solely by adversarial court processes.

Geldenhuys earned an LL.B., cum laude, from the University of Pretoria in 1983 and a B.L.C., cum laude, from the same university in 1981. As a Rhodes Scholar, she undertook graduate study in Law and Criminology at Oxford University from 1984 to 1986. Her education informed her work with family relationships, collaborative negotiation, and evolving legal questions affecting different kinds of families.

She opened her law and mediation practice in 1997 and introduced collaborative practice initiatives to the Ithaca community beginning in 2003. She has completed extensive mediation training and taught both introductory and advanced collaborative practice programs in the United States and abroad. Her speaking and teaching cover collaborative law, mediation, and LGBTQ+ legal issues, and she has helped develop ways to make these services accessible to lower-income clients.

Mariette Geldenhuys founded and served as founding president of the Ithaca Area Collaborative Law Professionals. She is active in the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals and has served on the boards of nonprofit and community organizations. Her professional approach combines family law experience, mediation training, and broader educational work to help clients develop thoughtful agreements on significant family decisions.

Law Office Affiliations

• Attorney, Geldenhuys Law
• Member, New York State Bar Association
• Founder and Founding President, Ithaca Area Collaborative Law Professionals (IACP)
• Member, Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York
• Member, Tompkins County Women’s Bar Association
• Member, New York State Women’s Bar Association
• Member, National LGBT Women’s Bar Association
• Member, Finger Lakes Women’s Bar Association
• Member, New York State Bar Association’s LGBTQ Section
• Member, National Family Law Advisory Council of NCLR (The National Center for Lesbian Rights)
• Board Member, Hospicare and Palliative Care Services
• Past President, Community Foundation of Tompkins County
• Past President, Community School of Music and Arts
• Board Member, Ithaca City of Asylum
• Board Member, Friends of the Mandela Rhodes Foundation
• Board Member, Ballet Guild of Ithaca
• Member, International Academy of Collaborative Professionals (IACP)

Licensed State

• New York

Education

• University of Pretoria
  Bachelor of Laws (LLB) (Cum Laude)
• University of Pretoria
  B.L.C. (Cum Laude)
• Oxford University
  Graduate study in Law and Criminology-6

Awards & Badges