Q - How do I get started? >
Reviewing the information on this website is a good beginning.
CCDP Members, who are Collaborative Professionals, would be happy to discuss your case and whether your family would benefit by resolving your family law issues on the Collaborative Model. Please look for Collaborative Professionals who can potentially become members of your Collaborative team on our Locate a Professional Pages.
Mediation is a dispute resolution process in which a neutral third party assists parties to a dispute. Parties may or may not attend mediation with a lawyer to help them reach agreements. The mediator may be an attorney or other professional trained in conflict resolution. A mediator may be able to provide legal information, such as what documents the Court needs, or what happens at various stages of the divorce process, but cannot advise either party as to what is in his or her best legal interests. A mediator can reduce agreements parties reach to writing, but the mediator cannot file those agreements in court or submit all of the documents required by a court for completion of a divorce action. A mediator has no authority to make decisions on issues parties dispute.
Collaborative Law is a process for handling divorce and other family law issues outside of a court-based process in the context of a six-person team. The first two team members are the parties themselves, who are each represented by their own Collaboratively trained family law attorney. One Financial Neutral works for both parties on the myriad financial issues related to divorce, and the final team member is a Collaborative Divorce Facilitator (“CDF”). The CDF performs many of the functions of a mediator, by, for instance, regulating communications between parties to the end of helping them make decisions.
Q - How do I talk to my spouse about Collaborative Divorce? >
Inform yourself about the process and identify why it is attractive to you. In addition to reading about the Collaborative Divorce Model, you can brainstorm with your Collaboratively trained attorney about options for informing your spouse. Read more.
Q - How quickly can I get divorced on the Collaborative Model? >
Spouses largely determine how quickly their cases can resolve on the Collaborative Model. How long a particular case takes depends on the complexity of the issues that are in dispute, how available the spouses are to gather the required factual information, meet with the Financial Neutral and CDF, and to attend full team meetings to negotiate agreements. It can be considerably quicker than a traditionally litigated divorce or it can go more slowly if the situation calls for it.
For example, sometimes parents wish to try a particular parenting time schedule for their children before agreeing to adopt it permanently. Complex valuation issues, to value businesses for example, can slow the Collaborative process just as they would a litigated divorce. Similarly, strong disagreements about what parenting plan is in children’s best interests will slow the divorce process whether litigated or on the Collaborative Model.
Q - CAN THE COLLABORATIVE APPROACH WORK WHEN EMOTIONS ARE INTENSE AND EVEN HOSTILE? >
Divorcing or working through other family law disputes on the Collaborative Model is not easy but it can ameliorate much of the strain and miscommunication attendant to litigated divorces when parties are not negotiating agreements with each other directly.
The Collaborative Model creates a respectful environment utilizing professionals trained to address emotions thoughtfully and in a manner that does not add fuel to the fire. Clients are supported in both speaking and listening to each other respectfully and in a non-adversarial manner, identifying what their interests are, and working positively toward achieve them. The directness of communications in meetings and the fact that a client’s questions and concerns are voiced often reduces the level of mistrust, misunderstanding, and conflict parties may have been living with for weeks, months, or longer.
However, there are situations where one or both parties have become unable to trust what the other says, and/or where emotions are too intense and the level of hostility too great for productive communication to occur even with the support of trained Collaborative professionals helping to structure and facilitate face-to- face discussions. Experienced Collaborative professionals screen parties and will suggest alternative modes for divorcing or resolving other family law disputes in cases they deem unlikely to succeed on the Collaborative Model.
Q - WHAT IF THE OTHER PARTY WILL NOT AGREE TO COLLABORATIVE LAW? >
Collaborative Law cases cannot proceed unless both parties retain attorneys trained in Collaborative Law and the attorneys, clients, and coach/facilitator sign a Collaborative Process Agreement.
Q - WHAT IF ONE PARTY WANTS TO LEAVE COLLABORATIVE LAW? >
Collaborative Law is entirely voluntary. Either party may withdraw from the process by giving notice to the other, and the Collaborative case ends. Each Collaborative attorney assists his or her client in transitioning the case to successor counsel.
Q - How can I minimize the effects of our divorce on our children? >
Perhaps the single most important factor in determining how your children adjust to divorce is how their parents interact. There are ways to effectively parent during and after your divorce. Read More
Q - How can I maintain my privacy during my divorce? >
Traditionally litigated divorces frequently start with the filing of documents announcing that parties are divorcing. Collaborative divorce can help maintain privacy throughout the your divorce by minimizing parties’ contact with courts.
A Divorce can be a Very Public Event Hearings and trials are generally open to the public – anyone can go into a courtroom, take a seat on its benches, and watch the proceedings.
Almost everyone has an interest in keeping some information out of the public eye. Details about people’s personal lives, habits, health, finances, and relationships are generally considered personal. Frequently business executives and professionals do not want friends, relatives, or competitors to know details about their businesses or professions. Sometimes, the threat of making private information open to the public becomes a coercive weapon.
Collaborative Divorce is Private Protecting privacy is one of the most important advantages of divorcing on the Collaborative Model. Papers filed in divorce cases generally are not open to the public, and because there are no court hearings on the Collaborative Model, third parties cannot hear testimony from witnesses testifying in open court proceedings.
Q - WHAT OTHER BENEFITS CAN I EXPECT FROM THE COLLABORATIVE APPROACH? >
The Collaborative Model is a private process; the court file will consist only of the documents required for a divorce. Motions will not be filed and discovery will not be sought, so that a minimal amount of your personal information will be submitted to the court. An agreement crafted through open negotiation, consideration of each spouse’s interests, and compromise, with each spouse having a full understanding of what was agreed to and why, tends to result in less post-divorce conflict, and far less likelihood of resorting to litigation if and when disputes do arise later.
Q - How do I cope during my divorce? >
During divorce, it is essential to acknowledge your emotions and manage your feelings in a way that helps you make smart decisions to preserve important relationships, your own wellbeing, and your children’s sense of security. This section of divorce information provides tips and strategies for managing stress and coping with your divorce. Read More.
