Facilitated Family Meetings
Facilitated family meetings are process-oriented and designed to help people share their concerns, opinions, information and ideas so that they can work together on creating solutions and planning for the future. In pre-conflict situations, facilitated family meetings can motivate participants to develop effective decisions that are group—rather than self—oriented, and encourage greater productivity and innovation. Used after a conflict has surfaced, facilitated family meetings help family members collaborate on problem solving and reaching consensus while preserving and strengthening family ties.
Situations in which families may benefit from having a mediator facilitate a family meeting:
- Eldercare issues
- Estate planning
- Probate and trust administration
- Family property
- Family business
Assessment
Before scheduling the first session, the facilitator conducts confidential interviews with each family member to understand the issues, the scope of the problem and the goals of the group. The facilitator also helps identify all those who should be included in the meetings. An agenda for the day of facilitation is created with either the group leader(s) alone or with input from the other participants.
Process Design
The next step involves logistics: arranging a date, time, and location for the first meeting. The facilitator also helps the family members decide how decisions will be made, i.e., whether by consensus, majority vote, or other method.
Meeting Facilitation
By exploring individual goals, the facilitator uncovers misunderstandings between the parties and common desires and promotes a commitment to changed behavior. The meeting facilitator, much like a traffic cop, encourages a smooth and effective conversation that incorporates true listening and fosters productive dynamics.
As an impartial moderator, the facilitator helps family members develop and evaluate positive and mutually satisfying solutions to their conflict.
Summaries and Memoranda of Understanding
We follow up each session with a summary in which we document the parties’ contributions and decisions. This summary serves as a foundation for follow-through and any subsequent meetings.
Upon request, we will draft a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that is signed by each party and then submitted to the attorneys for review and preparation of the appropriate legal documents.