My article on Elder Mediation was published on October 20, 2008 in the Focus Section of the New Jersey Lawyer newspaper which covered current issues in Estate and Elder Law. As stated in the article, Elder Mediation provides a forum for family decision-making designed to achieve the following goals:

• To hear the concerns of the elder, the service provider and the family, and to develop a plan that will address those concerns in the most positive and practical way;

• To provide a forum for siblings to discuss how they will share the responsibilities for care of their parents. Mediation can help families discuss the division of labor and the management of finances;

• To allow families to create workable and mutually acceptable solutions to their difficult disputes;

• To develop communication strategies to enable families of elders to successfully work together to make important decisions in the future;

• To avoid litigation of family disputes that have reached the point where court proceedings have begun or have been threatened.

Elder conflicts typically involve disputes among adult siblings about issues surrounding an aging parent’s changing care needs and medical treatment; the independence issues that accompany the aging process, including housing and living arrangements; and issues regarding financial management and the elder’s estate plan.

The article also includes a summary of the stages of the Elder Mediation process. Elder Mediation is a voluntary process in which a neutral third party helps guide the parties in conflict toward an understanding of their dispute; control of family issues and emotions; compromise and resolution of that conflict; and, perhaps, toward a new way of relating to family members.

The article can be found here – estate-elder-law-mediation