Looking for Cost effective Surrey Fort St John Family Mediator Parenting Plans?
MacLean Law has the only mediator-paralegal in British Columbia and can provide a cost effective alternative. We can mediate your parenting plan or conduct your provincial court required mediation. We operate out of our Vancouver Surrey and Fort St John Dawson Creek offices.
Did you know that if you are going to court to settle a parenting plan you can still attend mediation? If you can settle through mediation, you could avoid going to court for this issue. Mediation can be used to settle some or all of the issues at any time.
Our Surrey Fort St John Family Mediator Parenting Plans mediators know Surrey and Fort St John, Dawson Creek mediated parenting plans allow the parties to actively participate in the outcome and create a plan that works for their unique family situation. Mediation is assisted negotiation and it is becoming increasingly common in British Columbia as it allows people to reach a fair, timely and cost effective agreement.
Our FLA
The current Family Law Act came into force in British Columbia in 2013 and encourages alternative dispute resolution at all stages of the family dispute process. The courts are encouraging parties to mediate and use other out of court options and are upholding the agreements reached when using alternate dispute resolution methods. In some cases, mediation is now required before you can appear in the provincial family court.
Law v Cheng case study: How mediation can work for you
Kare Roussey helps you create Surrey Fort St John Family Mediator Parenting Plans.
For example, in case Law v Cheng, 2017 BCSC 328 the parties were able to enter into a consent order having agreed to all terms through mediation. Subsequently, they entered into a parenting coordination agreement. A parenting coordinator is neutral decision maker who can assist families in resolving their day-to-day parenting conflicts.
Example Of Recent Case
In this example, a disagreement arose about the children’s travel schedule. The consent order set restrictions on travel and there was a disagreement about the regular trips to Toronto. The parenting coordinator supported the father’s interpretation of the Order. The mother applied to the court to set aside the parenting coordinator’s decision.
In Law, Justice Smith states:
[28] Although s. 19 permits an application to the court to set aside a determination of a parenting coordinator, it is silent as to the standard of review to be applied. Consideration of the proper standard must begin with the Legislature’s stated purpose in enacting Part 2 of the FLA, which includes the provisions relating to parenting coordinators. The relevant section, s. 4, reads:
Purposes of Part
4 The purposes of this Part are as follows:
(a) to ensure that parties to a family law dispute are informed of the various methods available to resolve the dispute;
(b) to encourage parties to a family law dispute to resolve the dispute through agreements and appropriate family dispute resolution before making an application to a court;
(c) to encourage parents and guardians to
(i) resolve conflict other than through court intervention, and
(ii) create parenting arrangements and arrangements respecting contact with a child that is in the best interests of the child.
[29] In M.H. v. C.S., 2013 BCSC 2232, Mr. Justice Butler, in dismissing an application to terminate the appointment of a parenting coordinator, offers further guidance on what standard to use. Butler J. noted at paras. 36 and 38 that parenting coordination involves aspects of negotiation, mediation and adjudication and is intended to be a cost-effective process to enable parents to resolve parenting challenges.
The court upheld the decision of the parenting coordinator. Several recent decisions continue to encourage parties to resolve their issues outside of the formal court proceedings and the court are upholding those agreements whenever possible.
How It Works
Surrey Mediation – How the mediation process works
Mediation of a parenting plan can occur before, or during, family law litigation. Mediation allows the parents to control and create the best outcome for their unique family that is in the best of interests of their children.
Mediated parenting plans are generally more followed by the parents because they had the control to create the plan. This results in less conflict between the parents which is in the best interests of children especially when parents are trying to co-parent after a separation or divorce.
Contact MacLean Law at 604 697 2819 to learn more about the mediation of parenting plans or to schedule your required provincial court mediation. Vancouver Mediation, Surrey Mediation, or Fort St. John Dawson Creek Mediation available.
