Family members can end up at each other's throats over decisions about end-of-life care, estate planning or whether mom should move into an assisted living center. Can't sort it out?

Before you lawyer up, consider trying an elder mediator.

South Florida mediators have been refereeing divorce and custody battles for years. But recently, a new breed who call themselves "elder mediators" have been specializing in small and large conflicts commonly faced by seniors, such as which sibling gets to make medical care decisions for a parent, or deciding if Dad should give up driving.

...The Association for Conflict Resolution, a professional organization for mediators, created an elder section about two years ago. And a new Florida task force is looking at developing a comprehensive court-ordered mediation program for contentious elder-care situations, often involving guardianships, similar to what the state has now for parenting disputes.

Read more from the Sun Sentinel [HERE].