Why I like Collaborative Family Law
I believe that the best way to help families in a divorce is to come from an interdisciplinary team approach. This means that the professionals in the room are from different professions. They each come to the table with different education and a different skill set. A therapist can help you with the issues re: the children. The attorneys will help with all issues that are legal and a financial person will help with all financial issues. You get a team. Your team will be invested in helping you to create a durable agreement. We want to help you create this document so that you do not have to return to court and argue about divorce issues in the future.
You should know that there are no guarantees and we cannot prevent future arguments or predict the future. I do however believe that the less adversarial you can be in a divorce or a paternity case the better it is for you and your children both emotionally and financially. Divorce is very stressful and having different professionals to help you is one of the biggest benefits in Collaborative Family Law. Also one of the benefits of this process is knowing that if you don’t work together than everyone needs to start all over. This helps to keep everyone engaged in the process.
HOW DOES THE COLLABORATIVE LAW PROCESS WORK?
Collaborative Law, also known as Collaborative Practice is a non-adversarial form of alternative dispute resolution that operates in an environment grounded in good faith, cooperation, integrity, honesty and professional ethics to facilitate the resolution of the couple’s differences without the threat of litigation. Although Collaborative Practice is a legal process, in the Collaborative Divorce process, the couple and a team of specially trained Collaborative Professionals, including neutral Mental Health and Financial Professionals, as needed, enter into a contract called a Participation Agreement wherein they agree to work together to achieve a satisfactory settlement in a cooperative manner without court intervention. (Also see the Statement of Principles of Collaborative Law.)
The cornerstone of the Participation Agreement is that if the matter does not resolve, the lawyers must withdraw from the case and can never represent their clients in court. The participants voluntarily disclose all relevant information and agree to cooperatively resolve all issues outside of litigation. Settlement is accomplished through informal discussions, settlement conferences, mediations and other amicable alternatives. Collaborative Family Law Professionals more efficiently and effectively work together toward settling your case rather than preparing for and conducting a trial, resulting in savings, financially, emotionally and relationally for divorcing couples and their family. The Collaborative process can also be utilized to resolve other legal matters including the drawing up of pre and post-marital contracts, and disputes outside of the family law arena.
WHAT ARE THE POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF COLLABORATIVE LAW?
– A team of specially trained professionals with expertise in law, finance, and mental health working together to assist families
– Improved communication
– Improved co-parenting relationships (when applicable)
– Retaining control of the settlement process
– The couple makes decisions together toward a mutually agreed upon settlement, instead of a judge who knows nothing about your family
– Greater privacy and confidentiality
Savings of time, money and family relationships