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This website is for those interested in resolving matters of custody, and access to children, as well as questions of child and spousal support, and division of marital property and apportionment debts arising on the breakdown of relationships.

The historical method of resolving these issues has been by making an application to a court to have a Judge decide these questions. There is a growing consensus that the legal system and the courts are not the most effective means of resolving family law issues either in terms of time, cost, or the reduction of conflict.

Separating couples want and need a more effective and cost-effective way of resolving issues and conflict in families after the breakdown of a relationship.

Resolution of family law issues by agreement typically results in solutions that reduce conflict, save time and money, and results in an outcome that the parties feel is legitimate and long-lasting.

The two typical methods of resolving family law issues outside of court are mediation and arbitration.
Mediation is a facilitative process in which the parties meet with a trained mediator who is neutral to the positions of the parties and who assist the parties themselves to negotiate resolution of their issues.

Family mediators do not necessarily have any expertise or training in family law or the procedures and forms that are otherwise used in the court process of resolution family law issues.

Their skills, training, and experience, are in areas of assisting the parties to overcome the impediments to effective communication and negotiation.
It is not normally the role of the mediator to provide any legal advice or offer any legal opinions as to the merits of either party’s position, nor is it a prerequisite that either party either retain the services of a lawyer or have the benefit of legal advice before attending mediation, although such is usually prudent.

If an agreement in principle is achieved by the parties with the mediator, the tentative agreement is documented by a memorandum of understanding prepared by the mediator and signed by the parties, which then must be finalized by each party obtaining independent legal advice and preparing the appropriate form of documentation to implement the settlement.
If either or both have previously obtained legal advice from a lawyer before meeting with the mediator, the agreement in principle is referred by the mediator to the parties lawyers for review.

If neither party has sought the benefit of legal advice before attending mediation, each party must seek out the services and advice of a lawyer in reviewing the agreement with each. It is an ethical requirement that each party have a different lawyer advise each of them independently.
If after such advice, the parties wish to proceed to implement the settlement, then the lawyers prepare the necessary documents which will vary depending on the circumstances.

In the case where no court proceeding has as yet been commenced by either party, the mediated settlement is typically implemented by the preparation of a separation agreement.

If the mediation is attempted after a court proceeding has been started but before any final hearing or decision has been rendered by the court, the form of implementation of the settlement is usually a consent order signed by the parties which is then presented to a judge for his or her review and signature followed by its filing with the court in resolution of the case.

Arbitration is similar to mediation in that it is a facilitative process, but it is undertaken with an arbitrator chosen for their expertise and knowledge of legal principles and criteria to assist the parties to establish a reasonable range of acceptable outcomes in which the parties are free to create their own final resolution of issues based on their mutual needs and priorities.

Arbitration before a knowledgeable arbitrator with a background of experience with family law issues and the applicable legal principles can be of assistance to parties especially in circumstances where they have not had any legal advice prior to attempting to mediate a resolution of their issues by consent.

After assisted the parties with an understanding of the applicable legal principles that should inform their discussion and attempts to resolve by consent the issues and concerns that follow the breakdown of a relationship, the couple may elect to attempt mediation of matters that remain unresolved, or choose to have the arbitrator arbitrate matters that remain unresolved after such efforts to mediate.

The outcome of such arbitration is non-binding, unless a couple elect to implement the arbitrator's decision by means of a separation agreement or in the case where court proceeding has begun by a consent order to be filed with the court.

The couple is free to obtain independent legal advice at any time during the mediation or arbitration, and such independent legal advice from a lawyer will normally be part of the implementation of any mediated or arbitrated settlement.

The process usually occurs in three stages: an initial pre-mediation arbitration interview with each of the parties to ensure an understanding of the issues, and to confirm that it is an appropriate case for either mediation or arbitration.

Following the pre-mediation arbitration interview, couple me jointly with the arbitrator to ensure that the parties have a clear understanding of the applicable principles that apply to resolution of the issues.

The arbitrator maintains neutrality is between the respective positions of the parties in relation to the issues.

After this joint session couple can choose whether they wish to proceed to either mediation or non-binding arbitration of the issues that remain outstanding after such an initial joint session with the arbitrator.

If the couple at this point chooses to mediate outstanding matters, then the arbitrator refers the couple to appropriate mediator to conduct the mediation.

If the couple wishes to pursue non-binding arbitration, then the arbitrator schedules a date and time for the arbitration.

If the couple has elected to pursue mediation, which failed to result in a complete resolution of issues and interests, the couple may then elect to return to non-binding arbitration with the arbitrator to assist in resolution of the remaining issues by means of arbitration.

The advantages of Mediation-arbitration are:

• It is usually possible to schedule and complete a mediation-arbitration much more quickly than pursuing resolution of issues arising from family breakdowns in the courts;

• The Mediation-arbitration process is simple, and is not governed by complicated rules or mandatory forms as is required by the courts and its procedural rules;

• Mediation-arbitration is a more flexible approach which empowers the couple and places them in control at all time of the process and the outcome, and seeks to help parties resolve family law matters on a consensual basis that addresses mutual needs and interests rather than reliance upon the court’s adversarial system of adjudicating between the competing positions and self-interests of the parties;

• Mediation-arbitration is usually far less costly than resolution of family law issues in the courts;

• Mediation-arbitration is a process that can be used at any time to resolve family law issues, whether before or after commencement of a court proceeding, and may be an alternative way of ending family law litigation even after its begun in the courts;

Potential disadvantages of Mediation alone may be:

• Mediators’ expertise and training is in their acting as “Third Party Neutrals” and facilitators of communication and negotiation, which role generally does not include offering information or advice as to the underlying principles that otherwise govern a fair and reasonable outcome of a family law matter. In mediation parlance: “the mediator holds the bowl; the parties decide what goes into it;”

• A couple may lack the knowledge and information as to the applicable principles prior to mediation that would otherwise govern a reasonable and fair determination of the outcome of family law issues such that any agreement in principle reached without such information is liable to result in the inability of the parties to implement the mediated settlement, either after review of either party with independent legal advice from a lawyer, or review by the court of any consent order presented in disposition of a family law proceeding already commenced which unacceptably diverges from the principles that govern a fair and reasonable settlement;

• Obtaining such knowledge and information from a lawyer in advance of a mediation, while prudent, usually adds additional cost to the process of resolution, as the services of a lawyer will have to be employed by each party at the conclusion of even a successful mediation to implement the settlement;

• Unlike adjudication on family law issues by a Court, there is no guarantee that mediation will result in a settlement, such that the time and money invested in an unsuccessful mediation is unrecoverable;

Some advantages of non-binding Arbitration:

• While an arbitrator must at all times remain impartial and fair, an arbitrator is not a “Third Party Neutral” in that he or she does actively “place content into the bowel” insofar as the arbitrator assists both parties in understanding how any negotiated settlement must fit within an acceptable range of outcomes if such settlement is to withstand review by each party with independent legal advice from a lawyer as part of implementation of the settlement, or if the settlement is in disposition of a court proceeding that has been commenced (or to be commenced after the settlement such as a petition for divorce) that it will signed by a Judge of the court upon review;

• An arbitrator is chosen to assist the parties in reaching a consensual resolution of family law issues because of their knowledge and expertise which the arbitrator uses to assist the parties in understanding the applicable legal principles that apply to the parties efforts to achieve by agreement an outcome that is fair and reasonable and therefore capable of being implemented;

• The knowledge and expertise of an arbitrator can assist parties as a matter of pre-mediation to understand the applicable principles that establish the range of acceptable outcomes of a mediation so that the parties are both informed and realistic in their expectations and positions going into a mediation;

• Alternatively, the parties may elect to proceed with non-binding arbitration of the issues before the arbitrator, which arbitrated settlement the parties are free to accept or reject after had the benefit of independent legal advice from a lawyer;

• The cost of arbitration is usually much less than the cost of pursuing an adjudicated settlement through the courts and with the assistance and services of a lawyer;

• As with mediation, It is usually possible to schedule and complete an arbitration much more quickly than pursuing resolution of issues arising from family breakdowns in the courts;

• The arbitration process is simple, and is not governed by complicated rules or mandatory forms as is required by the courts and its procedural rules;

• Like mediation, arbitration is a more flexible approach which empowers the couple and places them in control at all time of the process and the outcome, and seeks to help parties resolve family law matters on a consensual basis that addresses mutual needs and interests rather than reliance upon the court’s adversarial system of adjudicating between the competing positions and self-interests of the parties;