Blended Families

When Families Try Elder Care Mediation, but Don’t Reach Agreements: How Can they Benefit Anyway?

July 20, 2026 by Katharina Dress

As an Elder Care or Adult Family Mediator, I serve older adults and their families by helping them resolve conflicts that often arise on the journey of aging. Topics can range from housing to financial and health care issues and as far as Estate and End of Life planning. Sometimes the Elders and their adult children and/or grandchildren participate in the process, but often it’s only the children who are fighting about what should happen to mom and/or dad and … Read more

When Family Conflicts Escalate via E-Mail or Text: How Can Mediation Help?

January 21, 2026 by Katharina Dress

As an Elder Care Mediator, I mostly help families resolve conflicts about their aging parents’ current and future housing, care, finances, and estate. Although usually all parties have their parents’ or grandparents’ best interest at heart, they disagree about what that should look like. Since everyone feels strongly about the issues at hand, emotions run high and misunderstandings can easily lead to conflicts. When I ask potential clients how they have tried to communicate with their family members, they often … Read more

When Stepchild Competes with Second Spouse to Take Care of Parent: How Can Mediation Help?

August 14, 2025July 18, 2025 by Katharina Dress

As an Elder Care Mediator, I frequently get contacted by adult children who are fighting with family members about their aging parents’ care. But recently some second spouses reached out to me for help, because their partner’s children from a prior marriage wanted to be in charge of their mom’s or dad’s care. The special dynamic of blended families can make the decision who should care for an aging loved one especially complicated. Here are a couple of examples from … Read more

When Families Try Elder Care Mediation, but Don’t Reach Agreements: How Can they Benefit Anyway?

When Family Conflicts Escalate via E-Mail or Text: How Can Mediation Help?

When Stepchild Competes with Second Spouse to Take Care of Parent: How Can Mediation Help?

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