A mediator does not rule on your case. They help you reach an agreement you both accept — which is why mediation succeeds where litigation grinds, and why it needs the right support around it.
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A mediator is a neutral. They do not represent either party, do not give either party legal advice, and cannot impose an outcome. Their job is to help two people who disagree find terms they can both live with.
That neutrality is the source of both the value and the limitation. A mediator will not tell you whether the deal on the table is better or worse than what a court would likely do. Only your own lawyer can tell you that.
Mediation is different from arbitration, where a decision-maker does impose a binding outcome, and from collaborative practice, where each party has a lawyer and everyone agrees not to litigate.
The output of a successful mediation is a memorandum of understanding — a summary of what was agreed. It is usually not, by itself, a binding domestic contract.
Turning it into a separation agreement that will hold requires drafting, and independent legal advice for each party. Skipping that step is how couples end up with a document that reflects what they meant but does not do what they need.
There is a cost logic here too. Mediation plus two lawyers drafting and advising is very often far cheaper than two lawyers litigating.
Mediation depends on both parties being able to negotiate freely. Where there is a significant power imbalance, or a history of family violence, that assumption may not hold, and screening for it is a standard part of responsible practice.
It also depends on disclosure. Mediating without knowing what the other side has is negotiating blind, and no amount of goodwill in the room fixes that.
The mediation itself is not. What comes out of it becomes binding when it is converted into a properly executed separation agreement, or incorporated into a court order.
Yes. The mediator is neutral and cannot advise either of you. Independent legal advice is what turns a memorandum of understanding into a durable agreement.
A mediator helps you reach your own agreement. An arbitrator decides and imposes an outcome that binds you.
That is a good result. Narrowing the dispute to one or two issues makes what remains cheaper and faster to resolve.
No. Where there is family violence or a serious power imbalance, it may not be, and responsible practice includes screening for that before starting.
Government sources for this topic. Rules change — confirm the current position before you rely on it.
The Ontario child support table applied to the income you enter, and the Advisory Guidelines range for spousal support. Both are estimates — the notes under each result say what they leave out, and they leave out a lot. There is more detail on the child support calculator and spousal support calculator pages.
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