Description

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Mediators assisting divorcing parties face many challenges not found in mediations of other types of cases. Never do emotions run higher than when children are involved. Who gets primary custody? How will visitation be determined or divided? How will support amounts be decided? Then there are the marital assets that need to be divided, the tax consequences to be considered, etc. There is a long list of items to be negotiated and then memorialized in a separation agreement. Non-lawyer mediators need to know what they can and cannot do to assist clients with these agreements. This guide will help them be able to assess the risks and to navigate more safely as they practice their craft. The goal is to maximize their effectiveness as practitioners, and by all means, to assist them in avoiding a charge of the unauthorized practice of law. b has given the current state of the art a gift. He takes us on an "Bob has given the current state of the art a gift. He takes us on an important walk through history, shares the current "standards" and makes some wise observations about where we are, where we might go and how to navigate while the field matures. Your understanding, awareness and comfort will definitely increase. Although there will still be uncertainty you will have the basis to make sound assessments about the edges of what is acceptable. If you are a beginner or a full time mediator working in the trenches this book is a must read." - Stewart Levine, Esq. Founder of www.ResolutionWorks.com Author of Getting to Resolution and The Book of Agreement.

About the Author

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Bob O'Connor, M.Juris., M.Div., LL.M in Dispute Resolution Bob brings a wealth of training, experience and passion to his work as an alternative dispute resolution practitioner and trainer. He has worked with families in crisis for nearly three decades, and has mediated hundreds of disputes of every kind. His legal training began in England at Oxford University where he earned an M.Juris. (British equivalent to the J.D.), continued but did not finish his J.D. at Notre Dame Law School, and later attended The Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, Pepperdine University School of Law where he received a LL.M in Dispute Resolution. In between his legal studies, Bob earned a M.Div. degree with honors from Yale University, and then served as a minister, counselor, and teacher for 17 years. Bob is not a licensed attorney. He has dedicated himself to the development of the field of alternative dispute resolution. His passion for alternative dispute resolution flows from his desire to help people and to make an impact. In addition to his active private practice, Conflict Resolution Specialists, he serves as a certified North Carolina Superior Court mediator. He also founded the Institute for Conflict Resolution-an education and publishing entity-and Good Decisions.org-a nonprofit organization helping at risk middle school teens stay in school and out of gangs. www.instituteforconflicresolution.com