Family mediation is a process for couples looking for solutions outside of the courtroom with respect to their separation, child custody, child access, or related issues, or for a change in their circumstances requiring amendments to their previous agreement. Our Whitby family mediator is qualified by the Alternative Dispute Resolution Institute of Ontario (ADRIO) to provide mediation services to couples.

Our Whitby family mediator will meet with both of you together to provide a balanced process to help you make decisions. Whether that process involves helping you work on and finalize a parenting plan or deciding how to divide up your property, the guidance and assistance of a mediator allows you to work together with your spouse in a process that is less expensive than having your lawyers negotiate for you.

This process, like Collaborative Law, also gives you more control over the final outcome, meaning you reach an agreement between yourselves rather than having a judge make a decision for you. There are advantages to this: many people have found that a judge’s decision, when imposed on them, is far from optimal and yet they must now abide by it.

Because our family mediator is also a lawyer, she is able to assist separating couples in negotiating and resolving their support disputes, including complex spousal support or undue hardship negotiations, as well as complicated property division issues, such as whether certain property is to be excluded from division.

We know that during separation there are many issues to identify and possibly fight over. Family mediation helps you to resolve these conflicts:

• By including both of you in the process
• By using one professional to facilitate and manage issues and resolutions
• By allowing you and your spouse to have productive conversations and make decisions jointly (with or without the support of an independent lawyer whom each of you consult)
• By providing a process that is often quicker and less costly than other alternatives
• By keeping you focused on goals for the future – without blame for the past
• Family mediation does not use a cookie cutter approach – it allows you to personally develop solutions that best meet your family’s unique situations and requirements.

Call or email us, to get Family Mediation started for your separation or divorce.

Fees for Our Whitby and Ajax Family Mediator, Stephanie L. Feld

This fee includes:

• Separate intake appointments for both parties;
• Two mediation sessions of approximately two hours each; and,
• Drafting of the Report/Agreement and any Progress Notes. By Report, we mean either a Mediation Report or MOU or the Separation Agreement depending on what the clients want.

This service is provided by Stephanie Feld, Family Mediator $3,500.00 plus HST

If further mediation sessions are required beyond the two included sessions, the parties will provide a top-up retainer, which will be used at the hourly rate of $325/hour plus HST.