What is Collaborative Divorce?
Collaborative Practice, including Collaborative Law and interdisciplinary Collaborative Divorce, is a new way for you to resolve disputes respectfully -- without going to court -- while working with trained professionals who are important to all areas of your life. The term incorporates all of the models developed since Minnesota lawyer Stu Webb created Collaborative Law in the 1980s.
The heart of Collaborative Practice or Collaborative Divorce (also called "no-court divorce," "divorce with dignity," "peaceful divorce") is to offer you and your spouse or partner the support, protection, and guidance of your own lawyers without going to court. Additionally, Collaborative Divorce allows you the benefit of child and financial specialists, divorce coaches and other professionals all working together on your team.
Collaborative Practice is a process for resolving family law conflicts through non-adversarial and interest-based negotiation. Parties employ Collaborative attorneys who support them in reaching a settlement outside the adversarial process of Court imposed resolutions. The parties, not the attorneys, are responsible for the ultimate outcome. The attorneys support the parties in the parties’ attempt to reach their best and highest interests, recognizing that a solution arrived at through active input and participation by both parties is greater than either party could generate on his/her own.
In Collaborative Practice, core elements form your contractual commitments, which are to:
- Negotiate a mutually acceptable settlement without having courts decide issues.
- Maintain open communication and information sharing.
- Create shared solutions acknowledging the highest priorities of all.
A collaborative divorce involves a series of four-way conferences where you and your entire family's interests are identified and protected. The process spares you and your children the emotional stress and anxiety associated with litigation, while still ensuring that such issues as custody, spousal support, child support, and visitation are resolved successfully for you.
