Divorce Arbitration

When a couple cannot resolve one or more issues through mediation, collaborative law or traditional negotiations it is open to them to appoint a qualified person to make a decision for them. The person appointed to make the decision is a called an arbitrator under the Arbitration Act of Alberta . The arbitrator is given virtually identical powers to those possessed by Judges. In effect, the arbitrator’s decision (award) takes the place of a court order and can often be reflected by a court order.

The advantages of appointing an divorce arbitrator to make a decision on unresolved issues over going to court include that when you go to court you cannot chose your Judge or the rules that will apply to the litigation process. An arbitrator on the other hand is a person chosen by both parties (often a lawyer trained in the area of a dispute) and the parties choose how formal or informal the decision making process will be.

Whether formal or informal, the arbitration process usually takes place at a lawyer’s office and typically includes the presentation of evidence (testimony, documents, etc.) and a summary by the parties’ lawyers of their client’s position and arguments.

Once the hearing is completed the arbitrator will submit an award (a written decision) to the parties which can be appealed but only on very limited grounds. The parties may even choose to give up their right of appeal and make the arbitrator’s award final.

As with a mediator, the parties normally share the cost of the Arbitrator whose hourly rate will be comparable to that of most lawyers’ hourly rates. In many cases private arbitration will cost parties less than litigation.