Marriage Restoration

Mediation offers hope for couples experiencing marital challenges who want to preserve their marriage and restore wholeness in their relationship.  Our mediators can lead couples through difficult conversations regarding issues such as infidelity, career changes and loss, children, and blended families.

Although mediation is not a substitute for counseling, it can be an effective supplement to counseling to assist struggling couples in finding options to continue their marriage.   Mediation is future focused.  Our neutral, volunteer mediators aid couples in clarifying issues, evaluating solution options, and then writing a mediation agreement which promotes peace in their relationship and fosters the continuation of the marriage.

Parenting*

Parenting from separate households involves special efforts in coordination.  Our mediators facilitate conversation, compromise, and new insights.  Mediation can address concerns regarding parenting schedules, holiday schedules, custody, educational issues, medical decisions, religious up-bringing, communication, transportation, and discipline.  The goals of mediation are to enable the parents to focus on the needs and best interests of their children.

Divorce*

When a marriage ends, mediation offers a confidential, lower cost, and faster route to resolution than litigation.  Discussions between divorcing couples about finances, personal property, housing, child custody, and parenting issues can be difficult.  Yet, our skillful and kind mediators are adept at assisting parties in overcoming communication challenges.    Mediation enables divorcing parties to choose how to structure their futures, rather than having judicial determinations of their separation terms.  The parties benefit from having the freedom that mediation affords them to elect outcomes for themselves.  Mediated agreements are custom designed by the participants to address their unique situations and circumstances.  Voluntary agreements benefit from statistically significantly higher compliance levels than litigation-imposed judgments.

Issues mediation can address include: division of personal property, real estate, retirement assets, vehicles, family businesses, debts, and decisions regarding spousal and child support and life and health insurance.

Mediation provides the participants the ability to decide these issues collaboratively with the goal of enabling each participant to move forward with life.

Guardianship (Child & Elder)

When it becomes necessary for a family member to be cared for by another family member, this change can create tension among all involved family members.  The onset and conclusion of guardianships are particularly challenging times for these families.  Mediation services offer the opportunity for all concerned family members to be heard and to reach an agreement on future care of their loved one.

Probate

The passing of a loved one requires participants resolve family issues while under stress.  Mediations can facilitate negotiations in disputes regarding wills, personal representative of estates, and other disagreements among heirs.  Resultant emotional rifts within families can be healed through mediation.  Mediation offers a discreet and sound alternative to litigation in a safe and neutral environment.

*Domestic violence-abuse screening of participants will be conducted by our staff.  Domestic violence-abuse concerns may result in either mediation being deemed inappropriate or in shuttle mediation, with the parties in separate rooms during mediation.