February is supposed to be the month of celebrating love, not divorce. However, more and more February is becoming one of the busiest months in the world of a divorce professional. In response to that, I presume, Family Mediation Canada has designated the 1st Wednesday of February as Family Mediation Day.
I want to take this opportunity to set out some of the types of family conflict where a trained mediator can assist to resolve the issues for you:
- Divorce / Separation – dividing property, creating a parenting plan (custody & child support, etc.), determination of spousal support
- School and parents / community
- School peer disputes
- Parents and their children
- Adult children and their parents
- Community members or groups
- Adult guardianship and family caregivers
- Members of blended families (step-parents, step-kids, etc.)
- Parties involved in adoptions
- Family Business issues – succession planning, relationship transitions for family business members, dissolution issues, ownership issues
- Estate planning
Are you facing any of these issues and don’t know where to turn? Contact a mediator who can provide you with additional information on the mediation process and whether it may be a good choice for your particular dispute. In essence, the mediation process opens up the lines of communication such that each person in the room can understand each other’s point of view and try to come to a consensus on how they will move forward from that point. Often it can be helpful because parties feel that they can’t resolve the issue themselves but don’t want to escalate it into hiring lawyers and/or going to court; this is a middle-ground where the parties can get one professional involved to assist them to move towards resolution.
Have you tried mediation? How did it go for you? Was it successful? Share your stories with me – send me an email or follow me on Twitter at @sdobsonlawyer and send me a tweet. I want to hear from you! Find archives of my articles on our website.