What is Collaborative Family Law?
About the Process:
Collaborative family law lawyers work together with their clients and the other spouse with his/her lawyer to reach agreements in bringing their marriage to an end with as little acrimony as possible. Instead of conducting negotiations by telephone or letters between lawyers you meet face-to-face with your spouse and the lawyers to work things out. Each spouse has their own lawyer by their side through the entire process, which allows you to benefit from legal advice as you work your way through the necessary steps.
- Each spouse seeks the professional assistance of a collaboratively trained family law lawyer. An initial meeting is scheduled in which both lawyers and spouses attend at one of the lawyers’ offices for a face-to-face meeting. A set of rules is agreed upon including a discussion on an exchange of financial and other pertinent information.
- All subsequent meetings always include one of the lawyers taking minutes and then circulating them to everyone to ensure all details are captured. After each meeting there are debriefing meetings between spouses and their respective lawyer as well as between the lawyers to ensure that the process is working for all parties.
- Financial information is also gathered and exchanged. If necessary where one or both spouses need assistance, a financial neutral professional could also get involved to assist with understanding the long-term consequences of some of the negotiated settlements that could be reached.
- The number of four-way meetings and individual meetings will be determined by the ability of the parties to recognize when their needs and the other spouse’s needs have been met in the best way possible.
- The lawyers then work together to prepare a written agreement for the parties to sign.
Which approach would you prefer?
Watch the video below to hear Barb talk about what it is about collaborative family law that makes her passionate about practicing it, why she feels collaborative family law is the best way to serve people, and what she has experienced as “the benefit” to people who choose this route.
To listen to more on Collaborative Family Law, click on the following link:
WLRN Collaborative Divorce Audio