Elder Mediation

Are you ready to learn more about the latest focus in mediation: helping elders and their families navigate decisions about health, financial and daily living concerns?

Our elder mediation training workshops help you expand your mediation skills into this growing field. View the workshop costs, and note discount for early registration. View the calendar to see elder trainings currently scheduled, or contact us to schedule an elder training in your location.

For a glimpse into the elder mediation process, read how Zena helped one family come to make better decisions about their mother's care.

Eldercare Mediation training focus on Adult Guardianship and Family Caregiver Mediation as well as mediation after the death of a parent. Adult Guardianship and Family Caregiver mediation are quite different from other types of mediation. At the conclusion of the training, participants will be prepared to organize and perform Elder Mediations. Meant for both mediators and possible participants in mediation, this is an advanced training for those who have already taken basic mediation training, and an introduction to Elder Mediation for those who have not. 

Elder Mediation training covers the following topics:

• Differences between elder mediation and other types of mediation
• Guardianship/conservatorship law and practice
• Capacity and disability issues
• Legal red flags
• Elder abuse
• Confidentiality issues
• Multiparty mediation and family dynamics
• Deciding who should be present at the mediation
• Working with attorneys, court representatives, GAL's and institutional representatives
• Role of community resources, support persons, advocates, and surrogates in mediation
• Ethical standards for elder mediators
• Mental and physical effects of aging, disabilities, and accommodation in mediation
• Societal and participant bias, family and cultural attitudes, and their impact on the mediation process
• Pre-mediation interviews and screening for appropriateness of mediation
• Marketing an elder mediation practice
• Demonstration, video, and practice

This training meets the requirements under the Association for Conflict Resolution Elder Decision-Making and Conflict Resolution Section’s core objectives for elder mediation training and adult guardianship mediation training.

Trainers for the elder mediation courses are Susan Butterwick, Roxanne Chang and Zena Zumeta, experienced mediators and trainers in family and elder issues with practices located in Michigan and a national training base. They have presented at major national mediation conferences and given training programs in Elder Mediation from North Carolina to Alaska. Susan is a member of the National Elder Mediation Training Committee, currently engaged in developing standards for elder mediation training and forming an Elder Mediation Section of the Association for Conflict Resolution (ACR). Zena is a former President of the Academy of Family Mediators and member of the Family Section Council for ACR. She has worked for the Institute of Gerontology at the University of Michigan and has done training in Advocacy and Aging around the midwest. 

Susan Butterwick provides advanced training in adult guardianship / probate and caregiver mediation for Michigan's community dispute resolution centers and nationally, for community centers, court programs, and other organizations. She served as directing attorney for a national demonstration project on adult guardianship and caregiver mediation and co-authored an evaluation of adult guardianship mediation in four states. Susan is a member of the national Elder Mediation Training Committee and a co-author of the committee's Elder Mediation Training Standards. She is a Michigan State Court Administrative Office approved trainer for community mediation and civil court roster mediation. In addition, she provides advanced trainings in child welfare mediation, parent-teen, and truancy prevention mediation.

•  Mediation for Estate Planners: Managing Family Conflict, 2019, American Bar Association
• The Little Book of Restorative Justice for Older Adults: Finding Solutions to the Challenges of an Aging Population, 2017, Good Books
• Mom Always Liked You Best: A Guide for Resolving Family Feuds, Inheritance Battles & Eldercare Crises, 2011
• The Boomer's Guide to Aging Parents, Vol. 7: How To Handle Family Conflicts About Elders, 2009