Family separation is never easy. Separations often lead to emotional and financial stress. Separating people need to deal with new living arrangements and changing relationships. When you have children, navigating co-parenting relationships and financial support can be another source of stress. Potential legal fees are another source of stress. Friends and family offer lots of well-meaning, but conflicting, advice. Newly separated people often find themselves confused, overwhelmed, and not knowing where to turn next.
The reality is: you need to make some decisions right away. You need to figure out who will keep living in the family home. You need to figure out parenting arrangements. You need to figure out support arrangements. You need to begin the process of separating property. Some of these issues are very urgent. You and your former partner need to make some day-to-day decisions immediately. Of course, it can be difficult to make cooperative decisions in the immediate aftermath of a breakup.
Traditionally, separating parties who could not agree on solutions brought Court applications. They asked the Court to decide some of these urgent issues. However, the litigation route is increasingly expensive and acrimonious. It can cause greater division between two people with many years of co-parenting or financial interdependence ahead of them. The litigation process asks a stranger to decide what is best for you and your family, without ever meeting you or speaking to you directly. It does not allow you any control in the outcome of your family’s future.
Increasingly, separating parties are moving away from this traditional litigation model into a more cooperative and collaborative model: Family Mediation. This process allows you to craft solutions to difficult problems with your former partner, not against them. Mediation gives you control and input into outcomes. Research shows that, even after five years, people who used Family Mediation to resolve separation issues are much more satisfied with the outcome than people who used the traditional litigation process.
Saskatchewan Courts recognize the importance of parties trying their best to resolve issues before moving to litigation. Family Mediation, or Family Dispute Resolution, is now mandatory. Parties cannot bring applications to the Court for decisions without first proving either
(1) They have attempted family mediation unsuccessfully; or
(2) Family dispute resolution is not appropriate for their circumstances.
This series of articles will explain how the law mandating family dispute resolution has changed. It will explain what Family Mediation is and is not. It will explain the mediation process. Finally, it will explain how W Law can either provide dispute resolution services or support to help you and your family during this process. Reviewing these articles will help you de-mystify some aspects of early separation and help you make important decisions that are best for you and for your family.
If this sounds like a process you are interested in, please contact us for further information on how to begin Family Mediation, or support through this process. We look forward to working with you!
Other Articles Related to Family Mediation:
Family Separation and Mediation.
Now What? Your Duties and Responsibilities After Separation
What is Family Mediation and How Can a Mediator Help?
Family Mediation as a Legal Requirement
If this sounds like a process you are interested in, please contact us for further information on how to begin Family Mediation, or support through this process. We look forward to working with you!
W Law and Ammy Murray are pleased to offer both Family Mediation and Parenting Coordination services. Ammy is a practicing lawyer in addition to being a recognized Family Mediator and Parenting Coordinator. She was called to the Saskatchewan Bar in 2012 and has practiced with W Law since 2025. In addition to her work as a family lawyer, Ammy has been recognized as both a Family Mediator and a Parenting Coordinator by the Ministry of Justice in the Province of Saskatchewan since 2020 (Family Mediator) and 2021 (Parenting Coordinator).
