Collaborative law is a new way to resolve disputes by removing the disputed matter from the litigious court room setting and treating the process as a way to "trouble shoot and problem solve" rather than to fight and win.  

As part of the collaborative law method, both parties retain separate attorneys whose job it is to help them settle the dispute.  No one may go to court.  If that should occur, the collaborative law process terminates and both attorneys are disqualified from any further involvement in the case.

Each party in the Collaborative law process signs a contractual agreement which include the following terms:

1. Disclosure of Documents.
Each party agrees to honestly and openly disclose all documents and information relating to the issues.   Neither spouse may take advantage of a miscalculation or an inadvertent mistake.  Instead, such errors are identified and corrected.

2. Respect.
Each party agrees to act respectfully and avoid disparaging or vilifying any of the participants.

3. Insulating Children.
As part of the process all participants agree to insulate the children from the proceeding and to act in such a way as to minimize the impact of the divorce on them.  

4. Sharing Experts. 
The parties agree to implement outside experts where necessary in a cooperative fashion and share the costs related to those experts.  (e.g. real estate appraisers, business appraisers, parenting consultants, vocational evaluators, or accountants).

5. Win-Win Solutions.
The primary goal of the process is to work toward an amicable solution and to create a "win-win" situation for all.

6. No Court. 
Neither party may seek or threaten court action to resolve disputes.  If the parties decide to go to court, the attorneys must withdraw and the process begins anew in the court system. 

One of the biggest differences in the Collaborative law process is that it recognizes that emotional issues exist that cannot be addressed by the legal system.  How often have you heard stories of divorcing parties spending thousands of dollars in legal fees to argue about pets or furniture that has limited monetary value.  Generally speaking, the parties in such cases are not arguing about dogs, cats or furniture. Instead, they are reacting to psychological pains that they experiencing. These emotional issues that are ignored in the Court process.  By contrast, the collaborative law process specifically addresses these issues by bringing them to the forefront and using professionals as part of a team approach to find solutions. 

A team of professionals is assembled to help the parties understand and resolve their disputes in many different contexts.  The disputes may be legal disputes or emotional and include: mental health counselors/coaches for each party, neutral financial advisors, accountants, parenting specialists, child specialists, vocational experts, and appraisers, if needed. 

A child specialist may play a very important role in the collaborative process. So often, children become the unintended victims in divorce proceedings. They internalize the conflict and often blame themselves for the break up of their family.  The child specialist works with children of divorcing parents.  It is their job to assist the children in understanding that the parental dispute is not their fault and to teach them how to cope and communicate with their parents.  In this way, the children have a voice in the proceedings and become part of the team process.

Financial professionals may be used to help define values of assets.  In the litigious court process often redundant appraisals are performed by one expert for each party. The end result is a duplication of services at greater cost and with increased distrust.  This often results in an expensive  war of experts at trial where each expert testifies regarding their different valuations. In the collaborative process, the parties choose a neutral appraiser that is not associated with either party.  With a trust relationship established, the parties agree on some division of cost and agree to be bound by the appraised value.

Most Cases Settle. The Statistics state that more than 90% of all divorce cases are resolved without a trial.  In the Court system that resolution often comes more than a year after the divorce was commenced and after many hurtful statements have been made part of the public record in the form of affidavits and motions.  Doesn't it make more sense to seek that resolution before the bridges are burned and the missiles are launched in a courtroom?  Certainly, collaborative law will not work in every case.  After all, it takes two people to fight and it takes two willing participants to effectively use the collaborative law process.  However, in the cases where collaborative law has been used, even if reluctantly, there have been more rapid settlements at a fraction of the normal cost associated with divorce.

Disputes that can be Resolved with Collaborative Law

Collaborative law can be used for any dispute whether related to family law or some other area.  It has been used the most often in the family law context to resolve disputes related to:

• Divorce, Legal Separation or Annulment
• Child Custody/Parenting Plans
• Parenting Time and Parenting Time Disputes
• Spousal Maintenance/Alimony
• Child Support, Medical Insurance/Costs, Daycare Costs and College Tuition
• Valuing Assets
• Division of Property
• Division of Debt
• Tax Issues
• Paternity Issues
• Break-up of Same Sex Partnerships
• Guardianships
• Adoption

Benefits of Collaborative Family Law

• No Court. Avoid court and the threat of going to court.
• Protects Children. Children are often caught in the middle of the divorce process and fall unintentional victims as a result. The focus of the collaborative law process is to insulates children from this very real threat. 
• Problem Solving is Focus. Issues are approached from a problem solving perspective rather than an adversarial one. The parties are viewed as participating in the process as a team. Exchange of information is complete, informal and honest.
• Creativity. The process allows the participants to craft their own solutions tailored to their own needs. Too often court solutions may not address the true needs of all involved and court feels like pounding square pegs into round holes based on limited information that the court is presented with.
• Reduce Conflict. The collaborative process is empowering and informative. It often allows participants to part as friends versus adversaries.
• Informal setting. The exchange of information is open, informal and honest and, as a result, less costly and time consuming. 
• Attorney Incentive. Your lawyers have a financial incentive because they are "out of a job" if the process breaks down.
• Less Expensive.  After all who wants to spend all their money for lawyers.

To Get Started

It takes two willing participants to effectively use the collaborative law process.  Since collaborative law is a relatively new process, your spouse may be reluctant to agree without proper education/information regarding the benefits of the process.  

1. Print off the information regarding collaborative law from this web site.
2. Discuss with your spouse Collaborative Family Law and share this information contained above.  If you are currently unable to meet with your spouse to discuss the matter, consider writing and sending a copy to your spouse, even if you have already been served a Summons and Petition for marriage dissolution.
3. Review and choose a collaborative law attorney who is committed to this process.
4. Each party meet with their respective attorney to discuss the marriage dissolution and utilizing the collaborative law process.
5. Then, if both parties agree to use collaborative law their attorneys will begin the process with a meeting between the two attorneys and the two parties to sign a joint collaborative agreement.
6. Stay engaged in the process with a positive attitude and a willingness to compromise so everyone can move forward and achieve a win-win outcome.

**The above information is meant to be informative and educational only.