The parties and a professional mediator meet in an informal setting to determine the most effective means of resolving a dispute.

During mediation, both parties will have the opportunity to be heard as they share their individual needs, interests, goals, and objectives.

The mediator will help identify and clarify issues, help create options for solving them, discard options that don’t meet the needs of the parties, and engage in negotiations and joint problem solving to craft a workable agreement.

While the mediator facilitates the process, the final decisions belong to the parties. This “teamwork” approach creates a mutual vested interest in the agreement, which helps avoid disputes in the future. It is also the best mechanism to restore the relationship of the parties, and bring reconciliation and healing to the lives of everyone affected by the dispute.

For the last two years, I have been in the initial stages of a transition from law to ministry.  The process began with me accepting leadership of the outreach and missions team at my church, Outlook Christian Church in McCordsville, in 2013.  At the same time, I also began working on a masters in ministry degree from Lincoln Christian Seminary.

This year, the process has moved forward in a couple of big ways.  In January, I was formally added to the ministry staff at the church, where I now serve as Missions and Outreach Minister.  In May, I completed my academic work and received my masters degree from Lincoln.  While my position at the church is half-time, the goal is full-time ministry at some point, but that could still be a year or two off.

In the meantime, I am continuing to practice law, at least half-time.  I have always had a diverse practice, which is helpful.  But as I delve deeper and deeper into ministry, I have felt called to pull back from family law practice, at least to some extent.  As a result, I am shifting my focus from a traditional family law practice to one that is focused primarily on mediation and parenting coordination.  So, while I am still involved in several areas practicing law at Broyles, Kight & Ricafort, I am emphasizing my mediation and parenting coordination practice through Conflict Resolution Ministries.

My practice at CRM feels like a good combination of my two professions.  Through my work as a mediator and parenting coordinator, I can combine my extensive knowledge of family law with my compassion for people and the difficult positions they can find themselves in and try to use that combination to help people find peaceful solutions to their family law issues.  I am not abandoning the practice of law entirely, but I feel like the pursuit of two sometimes very different professions gives me a unique perspective that will make me an especially effective mediator and parenting coordinator.  Ideally, this practice will allow me to bring at least some level of healing to people who are hurting because of the breakdown of their families.

I have spent some time as both mediator and parenting coordinator in the past so I have experience in both areas.  But my transition into ministry has put me in a position where I am now going to rely on these two methods of alternative dispute resolution as the primary focus of my legal practice.  It is certainly a challenge, but I see it as just another step down the path of faithfully following God and using the gifts and talents He has given me.

Parenting coordination is a process the parties agree to. At this point, there are few, if any, courts in Indiana that will appoint a parenting coordinator without the parties’ consent. The parties typically agree to parenting coordination, select a parenting coordinator, and agree to the level of the parenting coordinator’s authority. They then ask the court to issue an order appointing the parenting coordinator and identifying the limits of the parenting coordinator’s authority. That order controls what the parenting coordinator can and cannot do.

Typically, parenting coordination begins with an open exchange of information about the issues causing the conflict. This exchange of information may come through prior court pleadings, and through meetings with the parenting coordinator, either together or separate. The parenting coordinator may also meet with children, teachers or others who might have information relevant to the dispute, or even ask the parties to provide input from other professionals such as doctors or counselors. This process facilitates the fact finding and assessment process and gives everyone involved a better understanding of the issues.

Much of a parenting coordinator’s role is focused on helping the parties better understand the issues that are causing conflict in their lives. This is done through facilitating communication between the parties, helping the parties understand the perspective of each other and their children, and through providing neutral perspective on the issues. Ideally, the parties learn better ways to continue to parent their children together, even though they are no longer married. When that is not possible, the parties learn how to “co-parent,” that, is to each be able to raise their children, without the direct cooperation of the other.

Parenting coordinators also frequently play the same role as a mediator, by helping the parties work together to come to resolve disputes. The focus here is on finding a workable agreement that meets the parties’ unique needs and circumstances and guides how they will make decisions in the future. Like all mediated agreements, an agreement reached through the assistance of a parenting coordinator is almost always based on a more thorough understanding of the facts and issues than a court can provide, is more closely tailored to meet the specific circumstances of the parties, and is more likely to be followed in the future than a decision imposed by the court – all more cost-effectively than full-scale litigation.

Finally, parenting coordinators can also play a more active role in resolving the parties’ dispute. How active a role the parenting coordinator plays depends on the powers agreed to by the parties and approved by the court. A level one parenting coordinator can submit reports to the parties or the court with suggested resolutions to existing disputes. Either party is free to reject the proposal; therefore, a level one parenting coordinator has no actual decision making ability but can provide suggested resolutions that help guide the parties’ decision-making.

However, a level two parenting coordinator is permitted a certain level of decision making ability. After attempting to resolve a dispute by agreement, a level two parenting coordinator can issue a Binding Recommendation, which is a written decision directing the parties how to proceed. A Binding Recommendation is subject to appeal to the court, but if neither party appeals it becomes binding on the parties and can be enforced much like a traditional court order.