Getting Started in Family Mediation, Family Arbitration or Parenting Coordination
So you have read over the information on this website and have decided to try family mediation! Congratulations! Here is what you need to do now. Steps 1 to 3 apply to all services (Family Mediation, Family Arbitration, or Parenting Coordination).
1. Documents
Please read and sign the Family Agreement to Mediate. Seek independent legal advice if you have any questions. You and the other person/people involved will need to complete a Confidential Intake Form. We may want to speak with your lawyer. Please email the completed intake form and the signing page of the Agreement to Mediate to [email protected]. (We will have you sign a full copy of the agreement when you come in for your intake meeting.)
2. Intake meeting
You may select a mediator, or you can ask us to assign the person we think is best suited to your case. We will then schedule your intake meetings. Each party will meet individually and confidentially with the mediator. Your lawyer, if you have one, may attend the meeting. The intake meeting helps us assess if getting started in mediation is appropriate for your case, and helps you and us know if any steps need to be taken before you can have a productive and effective mediation. This meeting lasts between 60 and 90 minutes. We charge a flat rate of one hour of the mediator’s time. You can schedule your meeting by checking the available dates of the mediator on the website and then sending an e-mail to [email protected] to set it up.
Interns: As Riverdale Mediation is a teaching practice, an intern is likely to be present. Our interns have taken family mediation training and are often experienced family law or mental health professionals. Interns observe and often participate in the family mediation process. Having them observe the intake meeting to getting starte in family mediation is an important step because it affects many other aspects of the mediation, including the mediator who is best suited to handle your case from an experience and personlity fit, among other considerations. Our interns are governed by the same strict confidentiality and professional standards as our mediators.
3. Bring a credit card or cheque
One advantage at Riverdale Mediation is that we do not require deposits or retainers to get started in family mediation, but we do require you to “pay as you go.”