Family Mediation Services
Trailhead Mediation is experienced in mediating many family-based disputes- from separation and divorce, to creating original parenting plans, to helping parents reformulate those plans as needs evolve over time. As a neutral, we do not offer legal advice to parties. Instead, our role is to create a safe neutral space for productive discussion, support parties in generating and reality testing options, and assist in memorializing any agreements parties are able to negotiate with one another. Read on to learn more about the kinds of matters we mediate.
Separation, Divorce, Committed Intimate Relationships
Trailhead Mediation offers a range of services for parties navigating through a trial separation or the end of a long term relationship, including:
identifying goals
creating interim arrangements
gathering and sharing financial information
making arrangements for children or other dependents
working collaboratively with experts (attorneys, career counselors, financial planners, tax professionals, etc.) on complex issues
Parenting Plans
A good parenting plan is a co-parenting road map that sets out shared expectations and responsibilities and provides a base level of predictability for everyone. Mediation allows co-parents to collaborate in envisioning that road map. While collaboration may be difficult, with support in the mediation room, parties often find they are able to come up with a plan that meets their needs much better than what a third-party decision-maker could do, and with greater durability (since they came up with it themselves!).
Trailhead Mediation facilitates long-range planning and decision-making on a wide range of topics, including:
Decision-making authority;
Day-to-day, summer, and holiday schedules;
Special medical or educational needs;
Communication between co-parents and between each parent and child;
Children’s use of social media and tech;
Extracurricular activities;
Travel;
Integrating new partners into your children’s lives and into decision-making.
Parenting Plan Modifications
You did the work, you have a plan, the court process is done. Then someone moves, someone’s job changes, someone has a medical issue (i.e. life rolls on) and the plan on paper no longer works in the real world. Time to come back to the table.
Trailhead Mediation is ready to help parents adjust the plan as life changes, whether that means:
working to find agreement on issues outside of the parenting plan;
negotiating minor modifications to an existing parenting plan; or
going back to the drawing board to jointly craft a proposal for major modifications to an existing parenting plan.
We can help you stay focused, talk through the tough trade offs, and collaborate on a workable plan.
“Once parents’ formal relationship has ended, they often find themselves in a no-mans land, trying to navigate complex issues that a court won’t or can’t effectively assist with. Mediation offers privacy, creates a safe space for discussion, and helps focus co-parents on the issues that matter most. Parents love their children, and if they can be empowered to work together they usually find the best options for them. It is a joy to be part of that process, and to watch them build confidence and communication skills in mediation that turn down the temperature for everyone and allow more joy in family moments across homes.”- Elisa Ford