Is Collaborative Law Right For You?

Most marriages headed for divorce don’t necessarily end on a good note. But this doesn’t mean the divorce process must be a battle between soon-to-be exes. While many issues need resolution and negotiations can quickly become adversarial and contentious, you don’t need to fight out the details of your divorce in court.

One such option is what’s known as collaborative law. We overview collaborative law and how it fits into the process of divorce. For advice tailored to your specific circumstances, contact a local and experienced family law attorney. They will be able to assess your case and provide legal advice and strategies suited to you.

The Ins and Outs of Collaborative Law

In the past few decades, collaborative law has become an increasingly popular approach to working out family issues like divorces. However, it might not be appropriate for every case. Here’s what you need to know.

Collaborative law is a voluntary process that involves both parties agreeing to settle the divorce out of court. Like alternative dispute resolution (like mediation), both sides negotiate to try and find a solution that’s good for all. Unlike mediation, however, there’s no neutral facilitator. Both sides must have their independent legal counsel.

The collaborative law process requires spouses to attend a series of meetings with their lawyers and other experts as needed. Those involved must agree to fully participate in the collaborative law process in good faith. Hopefully, these meetings will produce a settlement that satisfies both spouses. Important areas include property division, spousal support, and a parenting plan that will meet court approval if there are children involved.

The Pros and Cons of a Collaborative Divorce

As we noted above, collaborative law is not right for all divorcing couples. While a collaborative divorce has its advantages, it also has some drawbacks.

Pros of collaborative law include:

• The collaborative law participation agreement requires the parties to be courteous and act in good faith.
• Both sides must disclose all pertinent facts, bypassing the potentially expensive discovery process.
• Both sides must agree not to use mistakes made by the other party against them. This encourages open communication.
• The emphasis on a mutually beneficial settlement allows the parties to find ways to work together. This can be especially important if you have minor children and need to communicate with one another long after the divorce is final.

Cons of collaborative law include:

• If the parties are too combative or otherwise unwilling to compromise, the process will never work.
• Because the parties and their lawyers have agreed not to file anything in court while working towards an agreement, if the collaborative law process doesn’t produce a settlement, the parties must hire new lawyers.
• If the couple can’t agree, the process could be wasted time and money. They’ll still need to engage in traditional court-based divorce proceedings.

Collaborative law is often called the team approach to divorce settlements. There’s no opposing party. Instead, the soon-to-be ex-spouses, each represented by counsel, work together to come to a mutually agreeable divorce settlement. Importantly, the collaborative law approach may not be possible due to domestic violence, abuse, fear, intimidation, coercion, or other significant issues.

Child custody, child support, alimony, and co-parenting plans are also part of the collaborative divorce process. While these can be contentious matters in traditional divorce proceedings, the fact that the final settlement agreement must meet court approval provides more cooperation between the collaborative teams.

The Dollars and Cents of Collaborative Divorce

Unfortunately, there’s no way to know if a collaborative divorce will ultimately save you money. While the collaborative law process avoids court costs, filing fees, and other litigation expenses, each party must still hire a lawyer. There’s no telling how long the process will take. And, if it doesn’t work, you may have to go to court with all new lawyers anyway. But if both sides can keep an open and civil discourse throughout the process, everything may get resolved far more quickly than it would in court. This can keep your overall costs down.

Collaborative lawyers must screen potential candidates and review the pros and cons of the collaborative law with you before the process begins. Contact an experienced divorce lawyer near you with experience in collaborative family law. They can help you make an informed decision about whether to go forward with a collaborative divorce.