How to Improve Eleventh Hour Agreements

When parents seeking separation are unable to beat the last-minute agreements, every effort is redirected to a court process to solve their parenting disputes. During this process, most spouses seek the intervention of the court to have their disputes resolved. In the view of foregoing that a court may not derive the best solution that is agreeable to parties in a dispute, most divorce lawyers and judges agree that last-minute dispute resolutions may be the best option. Some people have accused court process saying courts are blunt tools that may not handover the best dispute resolution to parenting disputes.

Out of Court Dispute Resolution

Parents can benefit a lot from the out-of-court process of dispute resolution, even if it is at the last minute. Round-the-table negotiations always result in resolutions voluntarily agreed on by all parties. These voluntary resolutions are more sustainable than solutions determined by other parties. In addition, negotiated agreements means that parents in a dispute develop a feeling that everything is well within their scope of control and that dispute the heated environment, they can agree on outstanding issues.

The Disadvantages of Last-Minute Resolutions

The downside of last-minute resolutions is that while parents and their lawyers may adopt a resounding agreement, often, these parenting disputes solutions may only serve the interests of the moment and that they may not be practicable in the long-term. Moreover, dispute experts hold that without the intervention of other professional third parties and institutions, parents and their lawyers may come with resolutions that have far-reaching effect on their future lives. Such agreements, according to experts, may be extremely cumbersome or may not reflect the true position of the parties under dispute.

For separating parents and their lawyers, it is advisable that although pressure emanating from third parties may cause agreement, in some cases, such resolutions may not be in the best interest of the separating parents, and particularly the child. It means that while reaching these agreements, it is wise to have their long-term goals considered. Clearly, it is essential for separating parents to involve the input of professionals and service providers such as counselors to help implement their plans.

Third Parties

The last, yet important aspect separated spouses may want to consider is deriving an outcome that is devoid of the input of other third parties. The input of professional third parties and courts can help separating parents develop a practical solution that address the primary concerns of both parties.

The best strategy is to have a professional as a consultant on issues that are likely to impact the outcome of the dispute resolution plans. These professionals can be invited to discussions and negotiations, not to intervene per se, but to offer their professional advice as to the significant role of their service to the underlying issues. By virtue of inviting professional service providers, lawyers together with their clients (parents) can rest assured the role of the service provider would be to provide professional advice without imposing their “advice” to parties in a bid to solve parenting disputes.

If you are looking for a reliable Toronto family lawyer, look no further than Fine & Associates Professional Corporation. We only practice divorce and family law, therefore, you can rest assured that you are in good legal hands.