Are you finding yourself unable to settle just one or two issues? Want to avoid the delay and expense of court? I am one of only a few Certified Family Arbitrators on the South Island. I am also a Chartered Arbitrator. I can hear your case in person, or online, or on paper as you wish, and make the final and binding decision you need to get on with your life.

The Process

1. Talk with your lawyer about this choice. It can be a good idea but not always.

2. If you are entering into mediation consider having your mediator become an arbitrator at the end to make sure you have some certainty. Many lawyers like to limit the choice of the arbitrator to one of the parties’ final offers. This helps to drive towards agreement as each party competes to be the more reasonable.

3. Sometimes you can make an agreement about most things but one or two items remain unsettled. Consider referring those unsettled items to an arbitrator.

4. Consider using an arbitrator who only gets documents. This can be much less expensive than a formal face to face hearing and is commonly used by large organizations such as ICBC. It can work well in any dispute where the facts are agreed upon.