You are probably familiar with mediation that is focused on resolving disputes and often used as an alternative to going to court. What you may not know however, is that mediation is a great process to prevent disputes in the first place.
Dispute prevention mediation or coaching is a process that helps you plan for and address disputes that may occur in the future. It makes sense that if a dispute can be resolved it can be prevented.
While each dispute is unique, there are some common elements that set the foundation of many disputes. These are unmet expectations, misunderstandings, ineffective communication, lack of resources, insufficient information, and/or misalignment of goals.
You may have a disagreement about a fact or a point of law, over rights, obligations, responsibilities, values, or interests. A dispute can stop you from moving forward, create frustration (as well as other emotions), require significant resources, and generate a great deal of stress before it’s resolved.
Preventive mediation and coaching provides the opportunity to make decisions proactively when you’re getting along, when they are fresh in your mind, or just for peace of mind. It helps you provide clarity now about how you would like to handle things if you don’t agree, outline your intentions, commit to decisions, and the address the reasons why those decisions were made.
Dispute prevention processes can be used:
- To opt out of some legal obligations and/or requirements
- To make interim decisions
- To support a legal process
- To ensure your wishes are known
- To clarify your intentions supporting a decision
Dispute prevention processes can be used in many situations, including:
- Before you live together or get married
- During your marriage if something changes
- During estate planning to explain your decisions
- When moving in with a family member
- When creating your Powers of Attorney to identify your wishes
- When transitioning a family business
- When entering a partnership
- When giving or receiving loans or gifts
Once the dispute prevention mediation or coaching is complete, it concludes with preparing a Dispute Prevention Document (DPD). This document clearly defines your intentions and understandings. The DPD is in plain language and non-binding (unless you choose to make it binding on your own or as part of a different process).
Mediation is both voluntary and confidential. You benefit from the shared cost, the speed, the flexibility, and the creativity of the process.
As with all mediations, we screen for power imbalances, understanding, and capacity. Within families we further screen for coercive control and abuse as well as family, domestic, or intimate partner violence.
“You can’t be overwhelmed by the what-ifs, or you’ll miss out on the best part” Rebekah Crane.
With dispute prevention processes you can move forward knowing you’ve taken the what ifs off the table and have comfort that they’ve already been addressed.