FDR Updates, News & Updates
Divorcing on a Budget – Is it Possible?
Divorce is expensive. If you were asked to summarize the costs that your next client would pay for total services rendered, you would be able to come up with an estimate (or at the very least a general range) without too much trouble. However, if you were asked you to do the same for another FDR professional not within your area of expertise this estimate would be more difficult for you to complete. Think about costs for a moment – about all the plethora of fees for services that any one client is paying over the course of their divorce:…
Read MoreAlternative Dispute Resolution, Family Dispute Resolution, FDRIO in the News, News & Updates
FDRIO speaks on the proposed Divorce Act Amendments: Read Submissions by Founder Dr. Barbara Landau on behalf of FDRIO to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights
It is the hope of FDRIO that the amendments to the Divorce Act (Bill C-78) are adopted before the next election. It has been 20 years since the last attempt at amendments and about 35 years since the Divorce Act was significantly changed. In late November, 2018, former Chair of FDRIO and Co-Chair of the Advocacy Committee, Barbara Landau, appeared before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights to make submissions on Bill C-78 (Divorce Reform), as the representative of FDRIO. In advance of her attendance, FDRIO delivered written submissions, co-authored by Marie Nickle,…
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FDRIO Member Angela Princewill speaks on being an immigrant, culture, Black History Month and more
By AJ Jakubowska I must admit interviewing FDRIO Members of the Month is quickly becoming a favourite part my job as Newsletter Editor. Here is my conversation with Angela Princewill, our featured Member of the Month. She is a family and immigration law lawyer who has expanded her toolkit for assisting with the resolution of disputes to include mediation. AJ: Angela, as a first generation immigrant myself, I am very interested to hear your story, how you came to Canada and how the country of your birth and its rich culture have shaped who you are today and your approach…
Read MoreFamily Dispute Resolution, FDRIO in the News, News & Updates
From the FDRIO Conference: Indigenous Peoples Often Prefer to Deal with Conflict Resolution Within Own Communities
by Amanda Jerome as appeared in The Lawyer’s Daily on January 3rd, 2019 Approaches to conflict dispute resolution are different in the Indigenous family context and legal professionals need to educate themselves on cultural variances in order to ethically and effectively assist them, explained Katherine Hensel to attendees of the Family Dispute Institute of Ontario’s annual conference on family dispute resolution. Hensel, founder and principal lawyer at Hensel Barristers in Toronto, was the keynote speaker on Indigenous Families — Approaches to Conflict Resolution and noted the myriad of differences between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people that must be kept in mind…
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The Very Hungry Mediator: FDRIO member Mitchell Rose on the importance of feeding your clients and yourself well!
“…but he was still hungry.” The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle (Philomel, 1986) ——————————————————————————————————– I am always hungry. If I am not eating then it is likely that I am thinking about food – unless I am mediating. It has become a problem. Allow me to explain: Back in the day when I was a hardcore litigator, before I metamorphosed into settlement counsel and a mediator, getting enough to eat was never problem. Court normally starts at around 10:00 a.m. — leaving plenty of time for a hearty breakfast. During a day at court, one could always count on the judge calling a mid-morning break, an ample lunch recess, followed by an afternoon break…
Read MoreFamily Dispute Resolution, FDRIO in the News, Mediation
Family Mediation Helps Separating Couples Divorce Amicably, Save Time and Money: FDRweek News
TORONTO, ON – OCTOBER 16, 2018 – Many Ontarians are turning to family mediation, family arbitration, and the hybrid med-arb—all forms of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)—to settle their separations and divorces. Factors driving this are: clogged family courts across many parts of Ontario; the high cost of hiring family lawyers; and the perils of navigating family court as a self-represented litigant, with no lawyer. Mediation is a well-known legal remedy for settling lawsuits in corporate-commercial law as well as personal injury claims. Corporations surveyed indicated that mediation saves them money (90%) and that it is better than litigation (81%). The Family…
Read MoreFamily Dispute Resolution, FDRIO in the News
Risks of Intimate Partner Homicide to Lawyers, Mediators, Clients and Families
by Jana Schilder as appeared in The Lawyer’s Daily, September 18, 2018 It is a fact that many more women die by the hand of their intimate partner than by any other means. There were 18 women killed and two men killed in Canada from January to April 2018 by their intimate partners, making a mockery of the words “I love you” and “to love, honour and cherish.” Separation and divorce escalate risk of harm, and involvement with lawyers and the legal system further aggravates risk of a party or child being harmed or killed. In 2015, Winnipeg family…
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