Why did I create the FDR – Estate & Beyond Training Program?

As an accredited Family Mediator, an Advanced Certified Elder Mediator and a former Certified Divorce Financial Analyst,  I found that I have a different approach to working with families during estate disputes. I am family focused and future focused. I have a deep understanding of screening. I understand financials. I have a basic understanding of the applicable laws and I took estate administration training to expand my understanding of processes. I have sensitivities around issues related to older adults. I’m also a divorce coach and parenting coordinator which means I have experience with high conflict personalities, emotions, education and creativity. Some elements of this program stem from the Elder Mediation course that I developed and teach at Humber Polytechnic. When I rolled all of my skills and experience together, I created a new “lens” for my approach with family disputes of all kinds.

FDR – Estates & Beyond training brings together principles and practices from family mediation, elder mediation and estate mediation to resolve estate and related disputes with a focus on the person at the center of the dispute. It balances the legal and non-legal aspects of the dispute and requires an understanding of conflict, financials, capacity, communication, family dynamics, aging (often), grief and loss in addition to the relevant law.

This program is the first of its kind in Canada and aims to deliver practical solutions for professionals in this field. The training’s content is based on current research and brought to you by people who work in the field daily. While there are many training options, including elder law, elder mediation, estate planning, and family mediation, this course endeavors to bring these pieces together in a comprehensive and practical way.

We know that family disputes related to estates aren’t just a civil matter. These disputes go beyond the legal impact and encompass emotional and financial impacts, which take a toll on families.

Estate disputes go well beyond preserving relationships and will challenges. This training acknowledges these disputes are often multi-issue, multi-party, multi-generational, multi-location, multi-disciplinary and emotionally charged matters such as:

  • Trust challenges
  • Dependent’s support claims
  • Family Law Act elections
  • Passing of accounts
  • Power of Attorney challenges
  • Elder law issues including abuse, capacity, and end of life
  • Family businesses
  • Financial and property
  • Decision making
  • Incapacity planning
  • Housing and caregiving

Estate and related dispute resolution has not kept pace with the changes within families, the changes in our society, and advancements in alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in general. Increasing lifespans, healthy aging, generational wealth and the impact of globalization on how families live, work, and make decisions. This training will help professionals develop a different set of skills and provide a different “lens” in their work with families during an estate dispute (or the prevention of disputes).

Currently, there is limited acknowledgement and training to help professionals better understand the strong family relationships at play during these disputes. Bringing together the principles and practices of estate mediation with those of elder mediation and family mediation will shift the perspective and provide another “lens” through which to view these disputes. A view with heightened sensitivities to ageism, grief, loss, capacity, and consent. A view with an understanding of family dynamics, power imbalances, undue influence, and coercive control. As well as a view that understands the power of financials and the complexity of the legal issues.

The growing need to apply this “lens” to estate matters will help future proof your business, provide greater client focused access to justice and create effective and timely resolution.

In Ontario for instance, potential changes to the Rules of Civil Procedure will expand mandatory mediation and the theme of working cooperatively will drive and encourage change. While mediation is currently mandated in three jurisdictions in Ontario (Toronto, Windsor, and Ottawa), the value of these mandatory mediations is not always maximized, as they are often seen as an obstacle on the path to litigation. Applying a different “lens” to estate and related matters will create the need for more professionals who are able to work within the family to help prevent and resolve disputes.

As there is no specific estate and related dispute resolution training or certification, the current “lens” has created a limited pool of professionals, broad ADR training based on the foundation of litigation, a lack of diversity, extended wait times, significant fees, and inflexible mediation models (overwhelmingly evaluative driven) with little succession planning for the next generation of professionals.

There is a growing demand for professionals with heightened sensitivities around decision making, who are capable of screening and balancing legal and non-legal issues while understanding elder law, estate law and administration.

More and more families are seeking resolution privately for topics that are generally considered family matters and are looking for professionals who will provide those services.

The FDR Estates & Beyond 2-day program highlights the importance of impartiality, screening, prevention, confidentiality and self-determination within estate related matters. It will help you understand the impact of aging, family dynamics, grief, loss and capacity on financial and personal decision making, estate planning and dispute resolution. It goes beyond the surface and explores the need for deeper, more flexible models that move dispute participants from legal positions to interests with a focus on resolution, not settlement.