Family Mediation

Effective, Efficient and Less Costly!

Issues Suitable for Family Mediation

• separation and divorce
• parenting plans
• financial division of assets and liabiities
• parent/teen conflicts
• inter-generational conflicts
• sibling conflicts
• disputes between family members over estates and/or estate planning
• where one family member is suing another in court for monetary damages.
• marriage contracts and cohabitation agreements
• other issues where an agreement is required

Benefits of Mediation

1.  Confidential - it can be as confidential as you want it to be. 

2.  More comfortable and informal than all other processes.  

3.  Extremely cost-effective - less costly than other professional processes.

4.  Efficient - saves you time and money.  It is done as quickly as you can work at it.

5.  Empowers you to resolve the issues - you decide the outcome and what is best for your family.  You are involved in generating options, ideas and deciding the outcome.

6.  Allows for more satisfying solutions and creativity to suit your family's personal and unique requirements.

7.  Other professionals can be utilized as needed.  For example, a tax specialist, financial advisor, child specialist.

8.  Helps you focus on your future, not your past.

In short, provided that mediation is recognized as the best possible alternative given your specific situation, it can assist you to resolve your conflict in a more amicable, timely, and cost-effective manner.

When mediation does not result in settlement, you can still seek other remedies such as court or arbitration. Even in cases of partial resolution through mediation, final costs are often reduced as the parties may have agreed on solutions to some of the issues involved in their dispute and therefore have less to arbitrate or to go to court over.

Of those individuals who reach agreement through mediation, most agree that the settlement was fair and that they were satisfied with both the process and the results. By minimizing the atmosphere of conflict through mediation, people are able to focus their energy in reaching creative and reasonable solutions to their disputes.

When Mediation is Not Appropriate

Some situations are not suitable for mediation, like in cases where there has been a history of domestic violence or a severe power imbalance. The mediator will screen for this during the first telephone call and interview with each potential client. Mediation is not appropriate when the other party uses fear, threats, violence or intimidation to get what they want.  It does not work when there is no respect or the other party refuses to listen to your opinons and interests.  It is not appropriate when you are afraid to openly express your needs and concerns.  If any of these conditions apply to you, please seek the assistance of a lawyer and Victim Services of Peel.

Separation and Divorce Mediation

Separation or divorce issues can be dealt with through mediation:

• parenting plans (custody and access issues)
• child and spousal support
• possession of the matrimonial home
• division of property
• changes to an existing agreement or order

Both parties are usually dissatisfied with the results of a court battle, spend a fortune on the process, and end up with entrenched conflict. On-going parental conflict is the most damaging part of separation for children.

Mediation can help you to focus on your children’s needs and improve your parenting relationship over time. Most parents who have gone through the mediation process report that it assisted with keeping the conflict down and that it all became much more manageable once they had something in writing they could follow.  This is very important given your co-parenting relationship never ends when their are children involved.

In Mediation, the mediator works with the parents to help them sort out their parenting plan for the children. Together they develop a parenting plan which can include:

• how you will make major decisions about your children
• how you will share time with them
• how you will arrange for your children’s support  

The Mediation Process

After a telephone screening and initial intake process the mediator will typically meet with the parties individually first and then together to complete the intake process and contract for mediation. The first session is two hours in length. Following the first session, other sessions are booked as needed. They are joint sessions which can last from 1 to 3 hours. The total number of sessions will vary depending on the complexity of the issues and the parties' progress towards resolution.

Each side explains their view of the dispute/issues and provides information. In family mediation , the parties' lawyers are usually not present during the mediation sessions but can act as coaches by advising the parties when needed.

Occasionally, the mediator may wish to meet individually with each party. Either party may also request an individual meeting with the mediator. Sometimes, to resolve the dispute, it may be necessary to have the participation of experts or others who have a stake in the outcome. The involvement of any non-parties should be discussed and agreed to in advance of the actual mediation session.

When the parties reach a tentative agreement , the mediator will write up a "memorandum of understanding" or " mediation report ". The parties are not bound to any proposed agreement arising out of the mediation process until the agreement has been fully reviewed by legal counsel and signed by them. The parties do not sign anything with the mediator. The mediation report is incorporated into a separation agreement written by a lawyer.

The Mediator's Role

Impartial/Neutral - Not on anyone's side.

Has no personal interest in the outcome.

Facilitates the discussion/negotiatons.

Helps to generate options.

Not an Arbitrator or Judge

Does not make decisions for you.

Writes the Mediation Report.

The Lawyer's Role

In order to make informed decisions, each party should obtain independent legal advice about their legal rights and obligations prior to coming to mediation . Although you may choose to depart from a strict legal position because of the facts and circumstances of your own case, this should be done with full knowledge of your legal rights.

The role of counsel is to advise the client of his or her legal rights and obligations and to act as "coach" for that party during the mediation process. He or she will advise on various issues as they arise during mediation, review the memorandum of understanding and draft any other formal documents needed to carry out the terms of any agreement.

Confidentiality and Mediation

It is generally up to the parties to decide whether their mediation process is confidential or not. Whether mediation is open or closed is decided upon in the first session and cannot be changed once the mediation has started.

Closed Mediation: Most people seem to choose confidential mediation which encourages complete disclosure since they seek to reach a settlement based on all relevant information about the dispute. All discussions take place in mediation on an "off the record" or "without prejudice" basis. This is called "closed" mediation and is the most common form of family mediation.

The mediator, unless otherwise agreed in writing by the parties, will not voluntarily disclose the substance of any of the discussions which take place in mediation, nor the content of any documents prepared or exchanged during the mediation process. For mediation to be a confidential process, each party must sign an agreement not to call the mediator to testify in any subsequent legal proceedings between them.

Although the mediation process is intended by all parties to be confidential, the mediator cannot absolutely guarantee such confidentiality. The mediator may, under limited circumstances, be required by law to disclose information, such as child neglect or abuse or actual danger to the participants.

Open Mediation: The parties can also choose to waive the confidentiality of the mediation sessions. If the parties are unable to reach agreement on all issues brought to mediation, the mediator may be asked to provide a non-binding opinion on the terms of a possible settlement. The mediator's suggestions and recommendations for settlement can take the form of a written report to the parties and their lawyers which may be used in any subsequent legal proceedings. The mediator may be called as a neutral to testify at court and be cross-examined upon his or her written report, but will not be a witness for either party.

All our mediators are accredited or certified by the Ontario Association of Accredited Mediators, Family Mediation Canada, or ADR Institute of Ontario.