Family
Mediation
Elder and Adult Sibling Mediation
Navigating the Complexity of Family Relationships
Have you and family members entered into dispute or reached a stalemate on handling critical situations, even legal matters? Family matters are often sensitive and rife with emotion. Difficulties often stem from life transitions of an elder family member, the division of an estate, management of a family asset, or a lingering dispute between adult siblings. Mediation can help avoid further conflict, address bruised relationships and enable the family to problem solve.
MPNE focuses on not only resolution but also on conflict prevention, skill building and alleviating on-going disagreements for the long term.
During life transitions, challenges arise in matters of finance, medical care, family possessions, safety and living arrangements just to name a few. Family disagreements are to be expected and some conflict can be constructive but too much conflict can be harmful to an elder, the care-giver and the family in general. The goal is to achieve understanding and foster harmony.
Family Mediation Categories
Family Mediation navigates the complex and often delicate relations between family members of the same or a different generation. It generally includes the following:
- Legacy Mediation: Decisions related to estate plans; decisions regarding co-owned property or assets left to descendants. For example, a vacation cottage left to children and future generations.
- Elder Mediation or Senior Mediation: Typically refers to family mediation related to planning older adult living arrangements, driving or life care arrangements.
- Adult Sibling Mediation: This could be for any conflict between adult siblings such as how to care for parents, estate property management disagreements or disputes over inheritance.
- Family Business Mediation: Could take place be between parents and children who jointly own the company, just siblings that own the company or family members and non-family employees of the business.
- Marital Mediation: Includes divorce, pre-nuptial, post nuptial or ongoing marital disputes, and be used for married or unmarried domestic couples. Marital Mediation may also include a parenting plan for divorced or divorcing couples. Our Divorce & Post-Divorce Mediation page offers specific information for couples seeking mediation to peacefully and equitably end their marriage.
A Safe and Welcoming Place for All
We welcome members of the LGBTQ community and people of all backgrounds to our practice. We believe that families come in many different sizes, shapes and combinations under the rainbow, and that each is a special mosaic.
Among the most important elements of family unity are respect, dignity and shared values. We seek to preserve and nurture these precious qualities in family relationships.
By opening the door to respectful and honest discussions, the family has a model to use in future sensitive situations to nurture cooperation and live in harmony.
Frequently Asked Questions about Family Mediation
Once a family member or friend engages Mediation Partners New England, the mediator will call each family member to discuss the situation and their perspective.
When you contact Mediation Partners New England, we can explore how to best approach your siblings. Sometimes an invite by phone from you and a follow up conversation with me is appropriate. If not, a letter can be sent introducing the mediator and then we follow up with a phone call.
The length of time depends upon the topics, the people, and the time available. Sometimes it takes as little as an hour whereas other times it takes a series of meeting. Some families have even planned for a focused day or weekend to explore issues, alternatives, and how to go forward.
It varies who pays for the mediation. Sometimes it is the parent. Sometimes it is one of the siblings that would like the mediation. Other times, the family agrees to split the fees. Who will pay is discussed in the initial meeting.
Though it is preferred that everyone be in the same room, there are several alternatives. One alternative is to tools like SKYPE, Adobe Connect or Google Hang Out.(need to get trademarks) Another alternative is to conduct the mediation using an audio conferencing facility. A third alternative is that the mediation takes place online using a mediation tool. This last alternative can be time consuming but good for people in different time zones.
The outcome of the mediation is up to the participants. By the end of the mediation a resolution or how to go forward will be known.
The location of the mediation is decided by the participants and the mediator. It is best to have a comfortable location. It can occur at someone’s home, at a public place such as a reserved function room in a hotel, at a church meeting room, etc. Comfort is key.
Whether your Mom attends should be addressed with her. As part of the preparation for the session, and if the family agrees, the mediator would want to talk to your Mom and sense her feelings about her children’s concern and her own wishes. At the session sometimes parents just wants to listen, sometimes they just want to come to the beginning of the session and then leave, other times they want to have a voice in the discussion. Maintenance of respect and dignity is a key goal for the mediator.
Many times the mediator will arrange for a second mediator to assist in the session. It is often helpful to have the second mediator help with noting information on flipcharts or tracking issues so nothing is missed. The cost for an additional mediator is addressed at the time parties discuss fees with the prime mediator.
The next step is to send a note of interest to Mediation Partners New England. CLICK HERE to complete contact information and someone will get back to you within two days. If you’d prefer, you can call at 617-799-8706 to speak to Susan directly.