Family Mediation / Arbitration

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Family Mediation is an alternative process used by persons who wish to discuss sensitive or difficult issues with the guidance of a neutral third party in order to reach agreement.

Family Mediation can be used to avoid court litigation, decrease conflict, assist with differences of opinion or where guidance is needed to flush out options.

Family mediation is a voluntary process, where a neutral mediator supports family members to make decisions, often but not always in the context of separation or divorce. Family mediation can also be used to resolve parenting issues, and to develop cohabitation agreements or marriage contracts.

Benefits of Family Mediation
Mediation is Voluntary: Mediation is a process to negotiate your own agreement with support and assistance.
Extremely cost-effective: less costly than other professional processes.
Mediation Helps Parents Focus on Children’s Best Interests: In family mediation, the mediator will help parents have meaningful conversations about what arrangements will be best for their children once they are living in two households.
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.
Mediation Can be Used for Select Issues: You can choose to take some issues to mediation rather than all. For example, you could decide to mediate issues related to parenting, while addressing financial or other issues in the court process, or visa versa.
Mediation Appropriate? Mediator is Not Legal Advice:

When Family Mediation is Not Appropriate

Some situations are not suitable for family mediation, like in cases where there has been a history of domestic violence that leads to current safety concerns for the parties involved or when there is a severe power imbalance that interferes with the integrity of the process. The mediator will screen for this during the first telephone call and interview with each potential client. Sometimes safeguards are put into place like shuttle mediation. 

Family 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 even with the help of the mediator. The mediator will screen for these issues and determine if your situation is appropriate.

The Mediator Does Not Provide Legal Advice.

The mediator facilitates a process where you and your spouse make a plan for your family’s future, together. The mediator does not, and cannot, provide legal advice. Before any agreement is finalized, each spouse is strongly encouraged to consult a lawyer to receive independent legal advice on the agreement.

This is to ensure that each person understands his or her legal rights and is making informed decisions. Each spouse is also strongly encouraged to arrange for a legal consultation in advance of the mediation process.

Contact

  • (226) 667-5118
  • info@phoenixadr.ca

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