When people think about legal mediation (if they think about it at all), they typically imagine combative divorce proceedings, high-stakes contract battles, or nasty personal injury disputes. They almost certainly don’t think about Alzheimer’s, dementia, or the elderly.
As The Huffington Post recently highlighted, however, elder mediation is becoming increasingly common throughout the United States — and for good reason. Aging is complicated, and it puts a real strain on families.
Some people have never even heard of mediation before. It’s an objective, informal proceeding in which an impartial professional helps parties come to a reasonable agreement without resorting to a formal trial. The attorneys still represent each side’s best interests, and any agreements reached can become binding if the parties so choose, but the whole process is much less stressful and expensive than a courtroom saga.
So when might mediation become relevant in elder law? HuffPo gave a good example: “Mom has Alzheimer’s disease, your siblings refuse to talk to one another, and your kids are too busy to lend a helping hand.”
That kind of conflict isn’t uncommon when an aging parent or dementia diagnosis enters the picture.
Mediation is changing the face of legal practice in Arizona, providing an effective forum for negotiation that can really work. If you and your family are interested in a less hostile, less costly approach to conflict resolution, our office can help. We’re able to represent our clients’ best interests throughout the entire mediation process and ensure that any final agreement is reasonable and fair.
Give us a call and ask about Phoenix mediation for elder law and family disputes today.
