Presentation to the Canadian Bar Association, BC Branch ADR-Vancouver Section on March 13, 2012

• essentially a summary of Elder and Guardianship Mediation: A Report Prepared by The Canadian Centre for Elder Law, (CCEL Report No. 5), January 2012 (the “Report”)

•  The Report is available online at http://www.bcli.org/ccel/projects/elder-and-guardianshipmediation

• Funded by the Law Foundation of BC, the Report is the first comprehensive report on elder and guardianship mediation in BC and Canada
• the Aim of the Report is to give practical assistance to those directly engaged in the field of elder and guardianship mediation in BC
• Over three years, all BC Law Institute staff members contributed to the research, design, management and execution of the Report, including Jim Emmerton, LauraWatts, Krista James, Joan Braun, Greg Blue, Kevin Zakreski, Emma J. Butt (the principal writer), and others

Elder and Guardianship Mediation Today in BC

• Elder and guardianship mediation are new and growing fields of practice;
• BC now has proposed legislation calling for mandatory mediation in adult guardianship matters;

• Mandatory mediation provisions were included in the major reform of adult guardianship and substitute decision-making legislation contained in the Adult Guardianship and Planning Statutes Amendment Act, 2007 (“Bill 29”)

Read more….

Nicole Garton-Jones will chair a new course on Elder Law Mediation for the Continuing Legal Education Society of BC.

Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Time: 9:00 am – 4:30 pm
UBC Robson Square, 800 Robson Street, Vancouver

Who should attend: Lawyers and mediators.

Learning level: All levels

Elder and guardianship mediation is a new and growing field of practice that is also fraught with complex legal and ethical considerations for the mediator. This brand new course will highlight the particular sensitivity and skills required to effectively mediate disputes involving an older adult, including issues of estate planning, powers of attorney, care giving, and lifestyle choices. Be prepared for upcoming changes to adult guardianship legislation involving mandatory mediation, as set out in the Adult Guardianship and Planning Statutes Amendment Act, 2007 (“Bill 29”). Elder and guardianship mediation will likely expand rapidly once these mandatory mediation provisions are brought into force.

Law Society of BC CPD Hours: 6.5 hours (a minimum of 1 hour will involve aspects of professional responsibility and ethics, client care and relations, and/or practice management)

Course Chair
Nicole Garton-Jones — Heritage Law, West Vancouver
Colleen E. Selby — MacLeod and Company, Vancouver

Pricing
EARLY BIRD (Register by May 11, 2012 and SAVE)
Regular: $475

After May 11, 2012
Regular: $525

Registration includes workshop materials. Note: You will continue to receive a print copy of the materials at the course. In addition, you will receive an email with a link to the online version of the materials approximately one day before the course.

Register here

Contact:

CLEBC Program Coordinator
Mary Kingston, Production Manager, Programs
mkingston@cle.bc.ca

Nicole Garton-Jones of Heritage Law will present to the CBA BC Branch Alternative Dispute Resolution Section on Elder Law Mediation at its March meeting.

Elder and guardianship mediation is a new and growing field of practice that is also fraught with complex legal and ethical considerations for the mediator. This presentation will highlight the particular sensitivity and skills required to effectively mediate disputes involving an older adult, including issues of estate planning, powers of attorney, care giving, and lifestyle choices. Be prepared for upcoming changes to adult guardianship legislation involving mandatory mediation, as set out in the Adult Guardianship and Planning Statutes Amendment Act, 2007 (“Bill 29”). Elder and guardianship mediation will likely expand rapidly once these mandatory mediation provisions are brought into force.

Generously funded by the Law Foundation of British Columbia, this report is the first comprehensive and internationally comparative study of elder and guardianship mediation in Canada.

As a person ages, mediation may be used to resolve disagreements in the context of estate planning, financial planning, organizing caregiving, developing a housing plan, discussing lifestyle choices—varied circumstances where an older person may involve family or other support people in problem-solving, especially where there is a desire to resolve a legal matter without going to court.  Anticipated changes to guardianship law in BC include mandatory mediation in certain circumstances.

Elder and guardianship mediation is a new but growing area of practice.  The work gives rise to complex ethical and practical questions in regard to maximizing the ability of the older person to participate in decisions about his or her future as well as ensuring age-based discriminatory assumptions and values are not affecting the decision-making process.

“As a province we are now at the precipice of proclaiming new legislation governing adult guardianship mediation and also of tremendous growth in the field of elder mediation, based on demographics,” says Executive Director Jim Emmerton.  “In order to move forward practitioners, policy-makers and educators require access to comprehensive information on elder and guardianship mediation.  This report fills that need.”

This large report includes consultation feedback from elder mediation leaders from across North America and compares lessons learned from key pilot guardianship mediation programs in other jurisdictions in the US and Canada.  The report concludes with recommendations for training and standards for elder and guardianship mediators, ethical standards for practice, mediation models and styles, as well as for the design and development of a court-connected adult guardianship mediation program in BC.

The report is available online at http://www.bcli.org/ccel/projects/elder-and-guardianship-mediation.

The Canadian Centre for Elder Law strives to be a leader in law reform by carrying out the best in scholarly law reform research and writing and the best in outreach relating to law reform as they relate to older adults.