Watch our video on the 7 Reasons We Love E-Mediation to find out why we recommend it to all of our family mediation clients:
See DIY Separation Agreements: Thumbs Up or Down? to find out about the pitfalls of trying to write your own agreement.
Our Divorce Chats interview with Laurel Dietz of www.legalcoach.ca goes into detail about the role of a family law mediator, who should consider mediation, how to prepare, and what can be expected from the process.
Christina Vinters is featured as a guest expert on CBC Radio’s BC Today show about peaceful separations. The segment starts at 24:45. Listen at this link here.
[1] Jerry McHale, Q.C., "What does 'Access to Justice' mean?" February 2, 2016:
http://www.uvicace.com/blog/2016/2/2/what-does-access-to-justice-mean
[2] Ibid., citing Roderick Macdonald, “Justice Is a Noun, But Access Isn’t a Verb” in “Expanding Horizons: Rethinking Access to Justice in Canada”, online:
http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/csj-sjc/jsp-sjp/op00_2-po00_2/b4.html#sec15.
[3] See more at: http://www.westcoastleaf.org/2016/04/14/were-in-ottawa-to-urge-action-on-access-to-justice/#sthash.gUxwb9qi.dpuf
[4] http://www.scc-csc.ca/court-cour/judges-juges/spe-dis/bm-2015-08-14-eng.aspx
[5] Hon. Justice Thomas Cromwell of the Supreme Court of Canada, "Access to justice: towards a collaborative and strategic approach" University of New Brunswick Law Journal (January, 2012), online: http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-302776655.html, cited in http://flsc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/services5.pdf at 1-2
[6] For a whirlwind summary, see the TED-Ed video by Alex Gendler titled "History of Marriage":
http://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-history-of-marriage-alex-gendler
[7] Mary Bess Kelly, “Divorce cases in civil court, 2010/2011” Statistics Canada catalogue no. 85-002-X: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/85-002-x/2012001/article/11634-eng.htm
[8] http://www.statcan.gc.ca/tables-tableaux/sum-som/l01/cst01/famil02-eng.htm
[9] Bramlett MD and Mosher WD. “Cohabitation, Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage in the United States”. National Center for Health Statistics. Vital Health Stat 23(22): http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_23/sr23_022.pdf
[10] http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/marriage_divorce_tables.htm
[11] Mary Bess Kelly, “Divorce cases in civil court, 2010/2011” Statistics Canada catalogue no. 85-002-X:
[12] The “Sweet Revenge” clip from The First Wives Club: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhomGXOMYmc
[13] The movie trailer for The War of the Roses: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098621/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
[14] Hal Arkowitz and Scott O. Lilienfeld, “Is Divorce Bad for Children?” March 1, 2013:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-divorce-bad-for-children/
[15] Bob Livingstone, “How Children Cope with High Conflict Divorce: How are they harmed and what can parents to do help them?” June 2013: http://www.mediate.com/articles/livingstone1.cfm See also Dr. Phil’s video clip “What happens to kids during a bitter divorce?”: http://drphil.com/shows/page/14009_kids_in_divorce/
[16] Joan B. Kelly, “Children’s Adjustment in Conflicted Marriage and Divorce: A Decade Review of Research” (August 2000). J. Am. Acad. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry, Vol. 39 issue 8, 963-964.
[17] See The Child of Divorce’s video “Voice of the Child of Divorce” for a moving explanation of how conflict affects children:
[18] See Dr. Nadine Burke Harris's TED-Med video "How Child Trauma Affects Health Across a Lifetime":
http://www.ted.com/talks/nadine_burke_harris_how_childhood_trauma_affects_health_across_a_lifetime).
[19] Nancy J. Cameron, Collaborative Practice: Deepening the Dialogue (Vancouver: Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia, 2004), p. 61.
[20] Thomas Kuhn coined the term “paradigm shift” in his 1962 book, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. The term refers to a significant change in assumptions and patterns of thought which radically transforms the former way of thinking. He originally applied the term to the natural sciences and it was later applied by others to the social sciences.
[21] Nancy J. Cameron, Ibid., p. 83. See also Dr. Gabor Maté’s video “Parental Stress and Its Impact on Kids” – it’s a bit of a slow interview but worth watching:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rof2UQfzUtY
[22] Nancy J. Cameron, Ibid., p. 75. See also Dr. Laura Markham’s video “Parenting: Protecting Kids During Divorce”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8u7s8HFDOc
[23] http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/amicable
[24] Definition: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/amicable
[25] Definition: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/quarrel
[26] Definition: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/amicable
[27] Definition: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/rancor
[28] Jodi Kimmel, Esq. of the Law Firm of Brett Kimmel Law, P.C. www.brettkimmel.com
[29] https://www.justia.com/family/divorce/
[30] Mediation/Arbitration is a bit of an exception.
[31] World-renowned mediator and negotiator, William Ury, has several informative videos on this website: http://www.williamury.com/videos/. “The Power of Listening”, “Going to the Balcony”, “Rotman School: Getting to Yes with Yourself”, and “How to Effectively Persuade” may be particularly helpful.
[32] Mary Bess Kelly, “Divorce cases in civil court, 2010/2011” Statistics Canada catalogue no. 85-002-X: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/85-002-x/2012001/article/11634-eng.htm
[33] See Lisa Nelson’s video “What is Divorce Mediation?”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opRvQiNL2H0
[34] The arbitrator is bound by the rules of natural justice which means that the process must be fair, transparent, and all parties must have an opportunity to be heard.
[35] See LegalYou’s video “Mediation and Arbitration: What You Need to Know” which describes the differences between mediation and arbitration, although it doesn’t describe the hybrid process:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_2NrlhwTfQ
[36] For a brief introduction to collaborative law, see Barbara Gordon on TVO’s The Agenda with Steve Paikin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zS0vnIm5oc. See also Christophe Imhoos’s introductory video “Collaborative Law”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-djk4MSV33Y
[37] Elisabeth Kübler-Ross originally identified the 5 phases of grieving: 1) Denial and isolation. 2) Anger. 3) Bargaining. 4) Depression. 5) Acceptance. The phases are not linear. People can move back and forth between different phases before finally reaching acceptance. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, On Death and Dying, Routledge, 1969.
[38] Yoda in The Empire Strikes Back (1980).
[39] Tim Enoch, “One Degree Off Course”: http://www.irrefutablesuccess.com/2010/04/one-degree-off-course/
PARENTING RESOURCES
Arizona Courts Publication - “Planning for Parenting Time: Arizona’s Guide for Parents Living Apart”: http://www.azcourts.gov/portals/31/parentingtime/ppwguidelines.pdf
Association of Family and Conciliation Courts – “Co-Parenting Communication Guide”: http://www.afccnet.org/Portals/0/PDF/AzAFCC%20Coparenting%20Communication%20Guide.pdf
Divorce Magazine – videos and articles for separated parents: http://www.divorcemag.com/
HelpGuide.org – science-based articles to help you and your children overcome various mental and emotional challenges including separation, co-parenting, step-parenting, blended families, anxiety and more: http://www.helpguide.org/home-pages/family-divorce.htm
KidsHealth.Org – information about how to talk to children about divorce: www.kidshealth.org
Law Now - searchable blog with articles on various family law topics: http://www.lawnow.org/
New Ways 4 Families – books and online courses to teach parents the skills necessary to put their children first by improving their co-parenting skills and jointly making their parenting decisions out of court http://www.newways4families.com/
Our Family Wizard – a somewhat pricey but handy online subscription service which provides shared calendar, date trading function, shared expense log, shared information for kids’ health and school records, and private messaging: https://www.ourfamilywizard.com/
Psych Central Publication: “Reducing the Stress of Divorce” by Jane Collingwood: http://psychcentral.com/lib/reduce-the-stress-of-a-divorce/
Up to Parents - videos, articles, exercises and worksheets for separated parents: http://uptoparents.org
CANADA
ADR Institute of Canada - sets out benchmarks for best mediation and arbitration practices; arbitrator and mediator rosters; frequently asked questions: www.adric.ca
Families Change – guides to separation and divorce for kids, teens, and parents; interactive game for kids and teens; online courses for Parenting After Separation and Parenting After Separation – Finances Edition, Parenting After Separation Handbook: http://www.familieschange.ca/
Family Matters TV – over 200 videos of interviews and presentations by family law professionals: http://www.familymatterstv.com/
International Academy of Collaborative Professionals – information about collaborative practice, and collaborative professional roster: https://www.collaborativepractice.com/
Justice Canada – information regarding various family law topics, and many publications including Federal Child Support Guidelines, Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines, Creating a Parenting Plan, and divorce related research articles: http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/index.html
Mediate.Com - information regarding family mediation services, and mediator roster for each state: http://www.mediate.com/family/
BRITISH COLUMBIA
Access Pro Bono - appointments for free legal advice: http://accessprobono.ca/
British Columbia Arbitration and Mediation Institute – frequently asked questions; arbitrator and mediator rosters: www.bcami.com
Canadian Bar Association BC Branch Dial-A-Law Service – audio files on various family law topics: http://www.cbabc.org/For-the-Public/Dial-A-Law/Scripts/Family-Law
Collaborative group websites, with information regarding collaborative process, and rosters of collaborative lawyers, financial professionals, coaches, and child specialists:
Collaborative Family Separation Professionals of Victoria: http://www.collaborativefamilylawgroup.com/
Collaborative Divorce Vancouver: http://www.collaborativedivorcebc.com/
North Shore Collaborative Family Law Group: http://www.northshorecollaborative.ca/
Collaborative Association of the Lower Mainland of BC: http://nocourt.net/
Okanagan Collaborative Family Law Group: http://collaborativefamilylaw.ca/
Collaborative Law Group of the Kootenays: http://www.nocourt.ca/
JP Boyd on Family Law – detailed overview of most family law topics: http://wiki.clicklaw.bc.ca/index.php/JP_Boyd_on_Family_Law
Justice BC – information regarding family law mediation services, family law topics: http://www.justicebc.ca/en/fam/index.html
Legal Services Society – publications and videos on various family law issues and processes, including the Family Law in BC Quick Reference Tool, and Guide to the New BC Family Law Act: http://www.familylaw.lss.bc.ca/
Mediate BC – information regarding mediation, and mediator roster: www.mediatebc.com