WHO GETS THE KIDS – OR THE PETS – OVER THE HOLIDAYS?

Mediation, Inc. Gives Free Sessions to Solve the Problem

            FORT LAUDERDALE, FL – Not long ago, a 13-year-old girl and her younger brother called Michael Carbo for help. Their recently separated parents were yelling about who would “get them” for Christmas. They wanted Carbo to arrange a mediation to settle the visitation question peacefully.  Luckily the kids’ intervention worked and a temporary truce was called.

For the past ten years, Mediation, Inc.'s Holiday Project has provided free mediation conferences to help parents solve scheduling disputes for the holiday season. They mediate dozens of Holiday Project cases each year.  Both parties must agree to attend the session or be ordered to do so by the court.  

            “Sometimes children show more common sense than their parents,” says Carbo, a Fort Lauderdale attorney and Certified Family Mediator with more than 30 years of experience in resolving differences as an impartial third party. “Emotions run high for parents during the holidays – but do you really want your kids calling for help?”

            Through the years, Carbo has been called upon to mediate many difficult visitation cases – including family pets. And the parental battles over Fluffy can be as traumatic as those over children.

“There is no better gift than to have both parents call a truce for the holidays,” says Carbo, a member of the Fort Lauderdale firm Mediation, Inc.

One of the nicest compliments the firm ever received was from a mother who said, “Thank you, last year we exchanged our kids in the lobby of the police station.”

 “There is no question that one of the best gifts you can give your child – or your pet – is to resolve these highly emotional issues in advance.”

As an expert in mediation – the voluntary process for settling disputes through an impartial third party – Carbo offers practical advice for divorced or separated parents:

• Don’t try to “bribe” your kids with a holiday trip. Reach an agreement with your ex-spouse before mentioning travel plans to children.

• If you can't agree on a holiday visitation schedule, at least agree to discuss it.  A compromise might be closer than you think.

•Allow your child to spend time with each parent on the actual holiday, if possible.

•Consider giving a joint gift from both parents to show that your child always comes first.

• If you can’t solve custody issues, consider professional mediation. Usually, it’s best for parents to come without their child.  

Carbo recently resolved a custody case that had dragged on for seven years. Both sides were so surprised by the mediated resolution that they hailed his solution as “nothing short of miraculous.”

Carbo – who is Florida Bar Board Certified in the area of Family and Marital Law – is also a Circuit Civil Mediator, former Family Magistrate, and past president of the Broward County Bar Association.

Mediation, Inc. has offices in Fort Lauderdale, Miami, West Palm Beach and Stuart and has conducted well over 100,000 mediation conferences.    For mediation information call 800-741-7000.