It is always our preference to have the respective lawyers present at family mediations. However, not everyone can afford to pay their lawyer to attend, nor even to have a lawyer. We work with people whether they have lawyers or not.

After the intake sessions, the first mediation meeting can be scheduled at a convenient date and time for everyone. Once that is agreed on, we will invite each client to schedule the date on our website scheduler and to pay for their share online at the same time.

Ontario law requires all clients considering family arbitration to be screened, separately, for power imbalances including family violence. The intention is to canvass whether private adjudication is the right process for each family. We will meet each of our mediation-arbitration clients before they commit to an arbitration process for this purpose. If we are arbitrating only, we will refer both parties to a qualified third party to provide us with a confidential report that addresses the screening obligation. And finally, if we are retained to provide third party screening for another arbitrator, we will invite both clients to complete the forms and agreements on our website to enable us to do that and provide a confidential report to the arbitrator. These processes are all procedural assessments only— and do not constitute fact finding. Not all cases are well-suited to private adjucation; screening is meant to make that assessment.

Whether we are acting as mediator-arbitrators or just arbitrators, the arbitration agreement must be signed with independent legal advice before we can take any steps other than the intake and screening meeting. We will work with your lawyers to ensure that the agreements, which are available on our website, are finalized correctly. After we receive a finalized agreement, we can speak with lawyers to design the best process for each client.

We ask all clients to provide an appropriate deposit, paid via our website scheduling page, before all meetings. We will discuss the amount of deposit required at your intake meeting before you commit to arbitration.

Parenting Coordination takes place after there is already a Separation Agreement or Parenting Plan in place. Such agreements will often provide that the parties consent to work with a Parenting Coordinator to resolve identified matters in the future. To get started, complete the intake forms on our website and send a copy of your Separation Agreement or Parenting Plan that provides for a Parenting Coordinator and describes the Parenting Coordinator’s jurisdiction. We will set up intake/screening meetings. It is important for you to know that, even though you, the other person and your lawyers may have decided to try parenting coordination, it is our job to assess whether it is an appropriate case for this process. Not all people or situations are suited to private dispute resolution, and the individual meetings are intended to help us make this assessment.

After the individual meetings, the Parenting Coordination agreement will need to be signed by each of you, ensuring that the jurisdiction provided to the Parenting Coordinator and the other terms of the contract are agreeable to both parties. All clients must obtain independent legal advice on their parenting coordination agreement before we can accept the case.

We require deposits for Parenting Coordination files. Your Parenting Coordinator will advise you of the amount. Clients are asked to make this payment directly through our website.