When is Collaborative Law the Best Choice For Me?

It isn’t for every client (or lawyer), but it is worth considering if some or all of these statements are true for you.

You want a civilized, respectful resolution of the issues

You would like to keep open the possibility of friendship with your partner down the road

You and your partner will be co-parenting children together and you want the best co-parenting relationship possible

You want to protect your children from the harm associated with litigated dispute resolution between parents

You and your partner have a circle of friends or extended family in common that you both want to remain connected to

You have ethical or spiritual beliefs that place high value on taking personal responsibility and handling conflicts with integrity

You value privacy in your personal affairs and do not want the details of your divorce and your settlement to be available in the public court record

You value control and autonomous decision making and do not want to hand over decisions about your future financial and/or child-rearing arrangements to a stranger (i.e. judge)

You recognize the restricted range of outcomes generally available in the public court system and want a more creative and individualized range of choices available to you and your spouse or partner for resolving issues/conflict

You place value on the continuing relationships that will exist in your restructured family situation

You understand that conflict resolution with integrity involves not only achieving your own goals but finding a way to achieve the reasonable goals of the other person

You and your spouse or partner will commit your intelligence and energy toward creative problem solving rather than toward recrimination or revenge fixing the problem rather than fixing the blame

In short: What are the benefits of Collaborative Divorce?

Collaborative family law focuses on all involved parties reaching a mutually agreed upon settlement of their disputes. The process results in valuable benefits. It creates a cooperative environment where communication remains open, which provides a setting where you can work with your spouse to meet your children’s needs — regardless of their ages. That helps set a tone for open communication and reduced conflict in the future.

It establishes a team instead of adversaries. Your lawyer supports you; your spouse’s lawyer supports your spouse. But you all work together and, in doing so, retain control of the process.

In matters requiring expert opinions, both parties can jointly hire one independent consultant. That helps shorten the duration of the case and reduce the overall expense.

You and your spouse shape the agreements together – which means you both are more likely to keep them. That diminishes the parental conflict the adversarial system generates and helps protect children from facing the anguish and divided loyalties that result.

You can schedule meetings without waiting for court dates. That means you generally spend less time and, as a result, less money to reach closure. It also means you reduce the fear and anxiety associated with court proceedings.

Your issues stay within the collaborative law setting. That gives you more privacy and greater confidentiality – and less stress during an already stressful time.