The responsibility, stress and breakup of the estate resulting from caregiving often create long-lasting rifts between family members. Services of a mediator can help the family avoid these disputes or heal the long-lasting wounds of resentment resulting from a previous family caregiving experience. The mediator can also help with planning for care by getting uncooperative family members to share in the responsibility of caregiving and by facilitating distribution of the estate before dispute occurs.

Elder mediation provides a forum for family decision-making. It is private, confidential and completely voluntary.

Mediators facilitate a purposeful and directed conversation in which family members are encouraged to express their interests and concerns. Meetings are informal and are held in locations which meet the family's needs, including private homes, mediators' offices and senior living facilities.

The mediator is a highly skilled conflict resolution expert and a neutral facilitator who does not provide advice or "takes sides" in these discussions.

The goals of mediation are twofold:

• First to allow families to create workable and mutually acceptable solutions to their difficult disputes and
• second to develop communication strategies to enable them to successfully work together to make important decisions in the future.

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