Monday, April 13, 2009

Elder mediation as an option for resolving disputes

Morning Edition on National Public Radio ran this story about turning to a mediator when adult children and elderly parents have a dispute about the parent's affairs.

In one example, the mediator said, "[The father] simply didn't want any of his kids to know how much money he had and how his finances were organized."

But as the report continued, " [T]hings were getting worse. One son insisted on going to court to get his father declared mentally incompetent, so the family could take control of the father's finances."

The story goes on to decribe the benefits of involving an outside, neutral party to mediate the matter. The downside may be that there are no national standards for mediating, so the family needs to carefully interview the potential mediator for qualifications. One option for finding a mediator is Eldercare Mediators (I have no basis to vouch for the quality of the organization beyond the reference in the NPR story.)

Perhaps this type of scenario is another opportunity for collaborative law.

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