What is family law mediation? 

Mediation is a process where a neutral facilitator meets with separating spouses, with or without their lawyers present, to help them identify and then resolve questions of:  

• parenting,  
• support,  
• and property division.  

The mediator does not provide legal advice to either party during the process. Although they will sometimes explain the relevant legal concepts that the parties must address, like parenting time or property equalization, for example, they will not advise either party on what position to take or whether a settlement proposal from the other party is a “good” or “bad” deal. 

What are the benefits of family mediation? 

Mediation can be one of the fastest and least expensive ways to arrive at agreements in family law. 

The efficiency of mediation comes from: 

(a) everybody being in the same room sharing the costs;  

(b) the mediator’s legal knowledge and experience of family law;  

(c) the mediator’s special training and experience in conflict resolution. 

How do I know if  family mediation is right for me? 

Separation and divorce are extremely stressful for families and figuring out the best path forward  is not always easy.  

While most ex-spouses would like to spend as little money, time, and energy as possible on resolving these issues, the appeal of mediation should be weighed against your specific circumstances. The mediation process will help narrow, if not settle, the issues in dispute.  For example, if f your ex-spouse is unwilling to negotiate in good faith and/or believes that he or she can obtain the outcome they want from a judge, mediation would only serve to delay an inevitable court process and may not be the right choice. 

Why is important to have an Accredited Family Mediator? 

Accredited Family Mediators are specially trained in the facilitation of negotiation skills, communication, conflict styles/resolution, family dynamics, parenting principles, family law, and the facilitation of discussion.  

For further information on family law mediation and to find out if it’s right for you, please contact our Family Law team. 

Our mediators

Christopher Deeble

Christopher Deeble has been Accredited Family Mediator(AccFM) by the Ontario Association for Family Mediation (OAFM) since 2017. He has over thirty years of work experience, with over a decade practicing family law. As a mediator who is also a licensed family law litigator, he is also able to convert the terms reached in mediation into a binding legal contract (whether it be a cohabitation agreement, a marriage contract, or a separation agreement). 

Peter Cronyn

Peter Cronyn is a litigation lawyer and mediator. Peter believes mediation provides the best opportunity for parties to determine their own informed, imaginative and durable resolution to a problem.  Peter has extensive trial experience and completed the award-winning course, Mediating the Litigated Case offered by Pepperdine University School of Law: Strauss Institute for Dispute Resolution. In the 1990s, he was actively involved in the committee in Ottawa that saw the introduction of mandatory mediation into the litigation stream in Ontario.