A family lawyer in Toronto and a mediator can both help resolve family law problems, but each play very different roles. When handling a divorce or a child custody or support case, is it better to hire an attorney or a mediator?
When you hire a family lawyer, he can act as a counselor at law and as an advocate for you in family law matters involving property division, child custody and visitation, child support, alimony, modification of alimony, custody or child support. As a counselor at law, he will provide legal advice relating to your rights and options on a range of possible legal outcomes and help you understand information on court processes, rules, procedures and investigations in the event that there is a need to go to court and have a judge resolve matters. As an advocate, a family law attorney will help you stand up for your rights and challenge the opposing party if necessary, negotiate for you and help you appeal decisions if possible, help you draft a separation agreement or any contract if necessary, and go to court with you and convince a judge to award you what you seek.
A family mediator on the other hand is a neutral third-party who helps resolve disputes about family issues by acting as an intermediary between the parties involved. A mediator is typically a social worker, lawyer, psychologist, or other trained professional. The family mediator’s job is to help both parties communicate properly in order to reach an agreement on support payments, the division of property, custody of and access to the children, child support, or any other family-related issues.
Unlike a family law lawyer, a mediator cannot act as an advocate to any one party. Instead, he equally bargains the position of each party and may be able to suggest solutions that may help the parties find common ground or expose potential pitfalls that may influence the objectivity or fairness of the outcome. A mediator cannot also give legal advice to either party as he must maintain a neutral and unbiased position in favor of both sides and is duly obligated by the law to disclose one party’s concerns or interests to the other party.
Another thing that a mediator cannot do is to draft a separation agreement. According to the Solicitors Act, only a lawyer who has special knowledge of Family Laws can write up a separation agreement. Mediators can draft a Memorandum of Understanding, but this is not considered legally binding and must be changed into a Separation Agreement in order to establish lawful accountability by the separated spouses.
If you wish to have someone completely and independently on your side to assist you through every legal issue during the separation process, advocate your legal position and guide you through a successful separation agreement, then your best move is to hire a family lawyer in Toronto. If on the other hand you wish to use alternative dispute resolution methods to resolve your family dispute without resorting to a trial, then you will need the services of a family mediator. If you consider mediation, you will still be advised to speak to a lawyer before seeing a mediator to fully understand the law and your rights and obligations before mediation starts and to consult with one to write up a separation agreement and help you fully understand the terms of the contract.
