Scott Levin mediated a dispute between siblings over their elderly mother's long-term care. The conflict had roots in 25 years of financial inequities. By focusing on practical solutions like cost-sharing and veteran assistance programs instead of blame, the siblings reached an agreement.
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Hey everybody, this is Scott Levin, Chief Peacekeeper. I just wanted to check in and kind of give a quick update on something that I recently worked on that was pretty cool. A couple weeks ago, somebody called me who was in the need of mediation regarding the long-term care of their elderly mother. And it was a really complicated matter with, you know, issues that had gone back 25 years on each side between the siblings. And this is really becoming more and more common, you know, as, as, as our parents really age, when we're in our 60s and 70s and our parents are nearing, you know, triple digits, you know, how are we going to care for their mental and physical well-being. And oftentimes siblings have different ideas about, you know, how that care will be provided and what type of care is acceptable. And those issues are exacerbated— the conflict can arise when one or more of the siblings are more affluent than maybe one or more of the others. So When, when the less affluent siblings really want to provide top-notch care, but that care has to be really provided by, you know, in terms of the financial commitment, by, by the other, you know, sibling or siblings. You know, it's a really difficult issue. And a lot of people end up in litigation over it. Honestly, I've seen it happen a lot of times. It's a growing practice for a lot of my litigation Friends. So how we worked it is we, we basically opened up communication. You know, communication is the key in any mediation. So you open up dialogue, you potentially get some good ideas from an experienced mediator on, you know, some options for how this could be solved, taking into consideration everybody's opinion. And, and you drop the BS about this being, you know, one— the other side being the devil. You know, you don't love mom. You don't love dad like I do. You can't take care of them like I can, etc. You got to drop the BS, the name-calling. Look, we all love our parents, and no matter what, and no matter how big of a pain in the ass they become, As, as they age, or just if, you know, if they're, if they're ornery in general or have opinions. We all, we all love mom and dad. So let's stop saying that one of us is better than the other, and let's address the issues and the options. You know, where can he or she live? At whose home? How much will that cost? Who's— what will be a reasonable way to divide those costs? Are there any veteran opportunities, you know, for assistance from the government? What's the best way to handle the Social Security? I mean, these are all just, you know, things that need to be talked about. So anyway, Scott Levin, Chief Peacekeeper. It was a great case to work on, worked out great. You could read the reviews on my Yelp account from both sides of this case. They both left really kind and heartwarming review. So thank you, and I'll check back soon. Scott Levin, Chief Peacekeeper.
