Barrie Mediation for Divorce

This mediation case study is a typical example of issues that usually surface during divorce. It shows why family mediation will always prove to be a much better option when compared to family court or choosing a lawyer.

Ray works with one of the tech companies in Simcoe County. Upward is what he’s striving for. According to his co–workers, he’s very intelligent and has the potential of earning promotion to a senior position in future.

Ray and his wife Kathy had been married for 15 years when things finally reached an end. Although they tried marriage counseling, it didn’t help resolve the differences between them.  One fateful evening, Kathy sat Ray down after the kids had gone to bed to tell him about her intentions of filing for divorce. Although it was time, accepting a separation and divorce could mean they may likely move away from their current residence and neighbourhood, which was tough.

According to Kathy, her family lawyer advised in favour of alternative dispute resolution (mediation process) given that it was much more cost effective. Also, it didn’t require as much time when compared to litigation. Two options were presented to Ray by Kathy; either they both agreed to mediation or she would follow her lawyer’s legal advice and file for divorce in the family courts. During this time, Ray felt very upset and wasn’t quite ready to give in to Kathy’s request.

For Ray, mediation meant the marriage would likely end sooner than expected. The worst part for Ray though was that he worried that the possibility of seeing his children during weekends as limited. That said, he also worried that he might be ruined by litigation, just as his friend Casey suffered at the hands of family law. Due to the drawn out court case, Casey had a strained relationship with his 6 year old daughter. It destroyed the relationship they once shared. The situation was really complicated for Ray since it looked like there wasn’t any way to gain an advantage

Rather than decide based on his emotions, Ray eventually decided to do some research and googled “Barrie divorce mediation.” After reading everything he could find, he realized that a dispute resolution process like mediation services was much better than litigation.

Ray contacted Divorce the Smartway the next day. He decided to explain his predicaments to Ken S. Maynard, a neutral third party, aka a divorce mediator. An Early Neutral Consultation was scheduled, then attended by both Kathy and Ray. Initially, both parties provided details about their lifestyles, children, assets, and debts to Ken. Once they’d done this, Ray and Kathy were encouraged to start sharing how they would like to resolve the division of property, child and spousal support, parenting plans, and the matrimonial home in a friendly conversation with each other.

According to Ray, the marriage was over but his only concern would be that he could be the one taking every hit in the divorce process. Kathy felt frustrated by Ray’s behvaiour and decided that filing for divorce would be the best option. As time went on, communication between both parties began to break down.

It looked like another war had just started between the couple. Their emotions were beginning to take over, and Ken knew he had to do start resolving conflicts as soon as possible before the situation got out of control.

Ken got to work, using his experience and knowledge to get things back on track. He found a way for both parties to focus on those things they considered most important to them. This was when they admitted that the reason for choosing divorce mediation was to protect the interest of their children. Ray pointed out he wanted to spend adequate time with the children.

According to Ray, a litigated divorce would only result in unnecessary expenses that would dry up their savings. Kathy agreed. She knew that, although she wanted to start a new life, that couldn’t be achieved through litigated divorce. After several mediation sessions, the differences between both parties were reconciled. They started exploring various available options to reach agreement on what they considered to be most important. Their assets and liabilities were analyzed.