Christina Marie Ward

Christina M. Ward is a Florida attorney, Florida Supreme Court Certified Family Mediator, a licensed clinical social worker, and a licensed marriage and family therapist. Her practice is devoted to helping separating and divorcing families reach durable agreements regarding parenting, timesharing, and the financial matters that accompany them, without the cost and lasting damage of contested litigation.

Family disputes ordinarily involve two problems at once: a legal problem that requires a workable agreement the Court is able to adopt, and a relational problem that determines whether the agreement holds once the parties leave the room. Most mediators are trained to address one of them. Ms. Ward is trained and licensed in both. She reads a parenting plan the way counsel reads it, and she reads the conflict underneath it the way a clinician does; the result is a mediation that moves past positions to the issues that are actually driving the impasse.

Mediation with Ms. Ward is a structured, confidential process in which you and the other parent, with or without your attorneys, work toward an agreement you both are able to live with. She does not represent either party and does not decide the outcome; her role is to keep the conversation productive, make certain each of you understands the choices in front of you, and reduce the terms you reach to a written agreement ready for the Court. Sessions are available in half-day and full-day blocks, in person at the Fleming Island office or by video, and are scheduled through an online booking system. Pre-suit and court-ordered matters are both accepted.

Ms. Ward accepts referrals for family mediation in pre-suit and pending matters, with particular experience in high-conflict cases, cases involving mental health or substance use concerns, and cases in which a prior mediation has failed. Her clinical background is of specific value where a party's presentation, rather than the legal issues, is what has prevented settlement. Pathways Resolution Center also provides parenting coordination, social investigations pursuant to section 61.20, Florida Statutes, clinical evaluations, and coaching services for individuals or co-parents.