Mediation is a voluntary and private way to settle your family law matters out of court. During the process, former spouses work with a professional family law mediator to negotiate an agreement. The mediator is neutral and does not make decisions, but instead guides the parties to design a solution for their family.
Mediation
Kathleen is certified with the Ontario Association for Family Mediation as an Accredited Family Mediator (Acc. FM).
Parties can address all family law issues including parenting, spousal and child support and property division through mediation.
The process is tailored to each family and can be cost effective as the parties share the cost of the mediator.
The Process
- This is a voluntary process. All parties need to agree to participate.
- Kathleen will meet with each person individually before a joint session. This is to understand each person’s perspectives, explain the process and to determine if mediation is an appropriate process.
- If it is determined the process is appropriate, and all parties wish to proceed, a joint session will be scheduled. At the joint sessions, the participants will identify the issues to be discussed.
- The total number of joint sessions depends on the circumstances. People may need time to consider options, gather information or seek legal advice.
- Once an agreement is reached on some or all of the issues, Kathleen will draft a mediation report and review it with the parties. Kathleen’s practice is to draft the mediation report in a format that allows the report to be turned into a separation agreement. The mediation report is not legally binding and will need to be turned into a separation agreement or court order.
Although Kathleen is a lawyer, when she is acting as a mediator, she does not provide legal advice to either party. Participants are encouraged to seek and obtain independent legal advice at all stages of the mediation.