Family Mediation Services: Navigate Your Separation with Confidence

When a couple separates, it can be a very emotional and stressful time for both parties. However, this transitional period often requires making many decisions to ensure everything runs as smoothly as possible, especially when children are involved. Utilizing divorce mediation can help ease this process, making it less painful. Additionally, family counseling services may provide the necessary support during this challenging time, and separation mediation can facilitate communication and resolve conflicts effectively.

Step 1: Both parties need to be willing to participate in divorce mediation.

Step 2: Each party must attend their own 1-hour initial assessment to determine whether separation mediation is appropriate for their situation and to gather the necessary information for the mediation to be successful.

Step 3: Collect the information that's required for mediation.

Step 4: Attend the mediation sessions with an open mind. The success of the divorce mediation relies on both parties and their willingness to come to an agreement.

Step 5: Once agreements have been reached, the mediator will prepare a report that can be provided to your lawyers to create an official separation agreement.

If changes need to be made to the mediation report within a year, another mediation session can be scheduled to address those changes. If it has been longer than a year, then both parties will need to undergo initial assessments again.

Since July 1, 2022, in Saskatchewan family court, participating in divorce mediation is mandatory prior to court proceedings. There are exemptions to this stipulation for domestic violence cases, but these must be approved by the court system. In mediation, the mediator will not provide any legal advice to either party. If legal advice is required, which is encouraged but not mandatory, they can provide information about the laws and regulations that may be relevant to your circumstances. Mediation is voluntary, meaning that if at any time one of the parties no longer wishes to participate, they will not be forced to do so. The goal of mediation is to assist parties in reaching an agreement. We take pride in our successful mediations and aim to complete them with the least number of sessions necessary, saving you both time and money. Fight Fair Counselling and Mediation Services exclusively offers closed mediation and will not attend litigations. The mediator will create a mediation report summarizing the agreements made during the session, which will be provided to each participant, marking the completion of our family counseling services.

Initial assessments for divorce mediation have fees of $140 each, including taxes. 

Mediation sessions, which are a part of family counseling services, cost $360 per session including taxes, but are split into equal payments of $180 for each of the parties involved. 

Typically, four two-hour sessions are needed in a successful separation mediation. However, there may be more required if parties are not willing to come to an agreement. No more than 10 sessions would be provided. Therefore, mediation can cost each party a total between $720 to $1800. 

What do you get out of mediation? 

You will receive materials to help guide you through the mediation process, and if parties come to an agreement on any issue, they will be provided with a mediation report that outlines those agreements. 

You will be guided and encouraged to practice good co-parenting and communication skills. 

You will save money in the litigation process, resulting in less stress and time spent on disagreements. 

This approach will help you transition through this phase quicker while also saving you money in the process.

In Saskatchewan, the typical separation legal fees according to the Canadian Lawyer Magazine (2021) can range from $1,583 for a simple separation agreement without children to over $25,000 if the case proceeds to trial. Therefore, choosing divorce mediation can save your family both money in legal fees and time that would otherwise be needed to take off work. 

Not opting for mediation can negatively impact relationships and may lead to children feeling pressured to pick sides within the family dynamic. When individuals are compelled to choose sides, no one emerges victorious, and it can erode any remaining bonds. 

When children are involved, the consequences of ongoing disputes between their caregivers can be particularly harmful. This is especially true if one or both parties disparage the other in front of the child, which can jeopardize the child's relationship with both parents. Such tensions can also lead to developmental delays or even mental health concerns. Utilizing family counseling services in conjunction with separation mediation can help mitigate these issues and foster healthier interactions.