Hi, I am Lee Rosen for the Rosen Law Firm. Our topic today is Collaborative Divorce.
Collaborative divorce is the latest trend in family law. Robin Williams, the comedian had a collaborative divorce. The movie Juno even had a reference to collaborative divorce in it. You know what is popular in Hollywood, often becomes popular across the country.
Collaborative divorce is a new way for a divorcing couple to work together as a team with trained professionals to resolve disputes respectfully, without going to court. In a collaborative divorce, both spouses have the support, the protection, and the guidance of their own lawyers.
In many cases, in addition to lawyers, there are also other professionals involved. This might include experts like child specialists, financial specialists, divorce coaches. These advisers will be brought in to consult about the matters and the areas of their expertise.
Collaborative divorce is different than some other popular options. It is not mediation, it is not arbitration, it involves the husband and the wife taking responsibility for their situation and resolving it in a way that works for their family.
The central idea behind collaborative divorce is that the parties enter into a contract that requires them to settle their case without going to court. the contract provides for four things.
First of all, it provides that the parties will negotiate in mutually acceptable settlement without using the court to decide any issues at all.
Second, the attorneys and the other professionals will withdraw, they will walk away from the case if either party goes to court.
Third, the parties will engage an open communication and information sharing.
And finally fourth, the parties will create shared solutions to take into account the highest priorities of both clients.
If you are one of those folks that says “We are only going to hire lawyers if we cannot work it out and it gets really ugly. Then collaborative divorce is for you. This process allows you to get all of the benefits of getting legal advice without any of the negative possibilities of involving lawyers in your personal life.
Collaborative divorce lawyers help you make good decisions about financial issues. For example, they advice you about all of the hidden pitfalls of the tax code and the intricate rules that are imposed by the Department of Labor and the IRS governing the retirement plan distribution.
They make sure you do not make document drafting mistakes that caused both parties in ways they did not expect. Collaborative divorce lawyers make sure you will understand the law, your rights, your obligations and the legal effect of your decisions.
Collaborative divorce gives you all the benefits of good legal representation without any of the negative factors. Both your lawyer and your spouse’s lawyer must be trained in collaborative divorce law for the process to work.
Collaborative lawyers are trained and skilled in collaborative law. They are excellent at creating an open environment that encourages the peaceful resolution of issues. It is important however, for you to realize that you are trusting your soon to be former spouse to be honest in the collaborative process.
While the collaborative process will set the tone for full and honest disclosure. The attorneys really only have a limited capacity to ensure that your spouse is being honest. Like mediation and arbitration, collaborative law attempts to maintain a civil relationship throughout the negotiations process as well as after an agreement is reached.
If either you or your spouse becomes stuck on a particular issue and cannot make progress then a mediator might be consulted to help with the collaborative process. If the mediator does not help you to come to a conclusion or if you decide not to attempt mediation, then what happens is both you and your spouse hire new lawyers, you terminate the collaborative process and you deal with the unresolved issues either in court or through arbitration.
Thanks to alternative dispute resolution options, when negotiations fail, you an
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