Family Mediation Lawyers Pickering

Alternative Dispute Resolution option such as mediation is a great and often the better way of resolving your family law dispute.

With mediation, a third party assists the separating spouses in reaching a resolution. Mediation is a voluntary process and both parties have to be willing to participate in the process. You do not have to resolve your dispute using mediation and can choose to litigate/involve the courts to settle your disputes however, even the Courts recognize the advantages of mediation over litigation and in some circumstances can order parties to attend mediation.

Ten Advantages of Mediation

  • Cost-effective
  • Quicker resolution
  • Less contentious
  • Preserves relationships
  • Results determined by parties
  • Confidential
  • Voluntary process
  • Informal
  • Parties maintain greater control over the negotiation process
  • Creates a foundation for amicable settlement of future disputes

At AP Lawyers we can help you resolve your family law disputes through in-person mediation or online mediation. We are experienced and knowledgeable on family laws and can apply these in resolving your disputes amicably. We recognize the role family violence and power imbalance can play in the process and so we design our process to ensure a just resolution, not one that a party is forced into.

Shuttle Mediation

Where parties are unable to or unwilling to sit together and negotiate in the same space, we use the shuttle mediation process to facilitate a resolution. Simply put, the parties communicate and negotiate through the mediator.

Shuttle Mediation is effective for parties who do not wish to speak directly to each other but who want to take advantage of the benefits of mediation. We can use shuttle mediation in both in-person and online mediation sessions.

Mediation Styles

We use a combination of mediation styles to resolve family disputes such as:

  • Facilitative
    With facilitative mediation, we can only as facilitators, making no recommendations. We act as guides, in helping the parties reach a resolution on their own. We assist the parties in uncovering their deeper interests and do not share our views on the issues.
  • Evaluative
    With evaluative meidaiton, we share our views on how we believe the matter would be determined, if the matter proceeded to court. While we never offer legal advice to either party, if parties are stuck on a particular issue, if appropriate, we apply our legal experience to the issue and comment on how the issue is likely to be resolved by a judge. We would provide our views on the range of possible legal outcomes to any given issue.
  • Transformative
    With transformative mediation, we help the mediating parties understand the needs and interests of the other party. By being able to understand not just your needs and interest but that of the other party, the parties can reach a resolution that would be more satisfying and enduring.

We evolve our style to suit the needs of each individual case. Our central focus is to help as neutrals, to facilitate a self-determined resolution to your family law dispute. We maks sure the parties are aware of their BATNA.

What is BATNA?

BATNA means the “best alternative to a negotiated agreement”. In other words, what happens if you do not settle your dispute in mediation?

This is not information you need to share with the other party and it is important to obtain independent legal advice to get a full understanding of your options (remember, as your mediators, we take a neutral position). However, you need to know what you are willing to accept and how low or how far you are not willing to go. By knowing your best alternative to a negotiated settlement, you know when it is in your best interest to continue negotiations, or if it is better to reject an offer.

Knowing your BATNA helps avoid a situation where you reject a settlement proposal at mediation, only to find out you could get no better in Court.

Online Mediation

Online mediation is simply mediation conducted virtually via a video conferencing tool such as Zoom or Skype. You get all the benefits of mediation, with the added convenience of attending from the comfort of wherever you are – home, office, boat, trailer – in the country, or overseas.Travel time to a physical location for mediation is completely eliminated.

Online mediation can also offer safety benefits as the parties do not have to be in the same physical location. Safety concerns aside, some parties prefer not to be in the same physical location in which case online / virtual mediation is a perfect solution.

Online mediation can be more focused and therefore more cost effective and because online mediation allows us to work with you from wherever and whenever you want, your issues can be resolved faster.

Whether you choose in-person or online mediation, our family mediation process remains confidential and our role as your mediator remains the same: to take act as neutral facilitators in helping divorcing and separating families reach an amicable resolution of their family law disputes.

Remember with mediation, you can avoid a costly protracted litigation process.

  • LEARN ABOUT ONLINE MEDIATION

    A Great alternative to resolve your family law disputes amicably

    LEARN MORE

AREAS WE SERVE

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    • Bowmanville
    • Uxbridge
    • Port Perry
    • Baltimore
    • Colborne
    • Fraserville
    • Whitchurch
    • Stouffville
    • Toronto
    • Brampton
    • Mississauga
    • Vaughan
    • Woodbridge
    • Pickering
    • Whitby
    • Peterborough
    • Clarington
    • Caledon
    • Kawartha Lakes
    • Port Hope
    • Bowmanville
    • Uxbridge
    • Port Perry
    • Newmarket
    • Markham
    • Richmond Hill
    • Oshawa
    • Ajax
    • Lindsay
    • Etobicoke
    • Brighton
    • Aurora
    • Cobourg
    • Baltimore
    • Colborne
    • Fraserville
    • Whitchurch
    • Stouffville

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