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Collaborative law is a process for
people who desire a divorce with dignity and respect and wish to avoid a contentious
battle.
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In collaborative family law, each party
hires a trained and certified collaborative attorney to serve as legal advisors and
settlement specialists. The parties and attorneys work together in a cooperative,
non-adversarial process with a mutual goal of reaching a fair settlement of all issues.
This process encourages creative problem solving, win-win negotiations, and resolutions
that meet the needs of all members of the family.
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What is the Participation Agreement?
An agreement, signed by both parties
and their lawyers that commits all of them to the process of settling issues without
going to court.
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What Does the Process Look Like?
The parties are directly involved in the
process and retain control over the outcome. The parties and attorneys communicate and
negotiate directly with one another in structured four-way settlement meetings. Binding
commitments are made by both parties and their respective attorneys to voluntarily
disclose all financial and other relevant information, to proceed respectfully and in
good faith in settlement negotiations, and to refrain from the threat or use of litigation.
The parties agree that they will not go to court and if anyone wants to do so, both
collaborative attorneys would be disqualified and must withdraw, and both parties would
need to retain new attorneys to represent them if they wish to be represented in court.
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Role of Experts
If required to facilitate the process,
experts are brought in as neutrals who are jointly retained by the parties. In addition,
collaborative divorce may involve a team approach: possible team members include financial
advisors and mental health professionals who can serve as coaches to help the parties
effectively participate in the process, and financial specialists to assist with financial
issues.
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Potential advantages of Collaborative Family Law include:
The process is designed to minimize hostility
and negative conflict, and to instead refocus the parties on constructive, mutually satisfactory
methods of arriving at outcomes.
This is a significant benefit to the parties'
children, since research has shown that conflict and hostility between parents, an almost inevitable
consequence of adversarial litigation, is significantly damaging to children.
A significant increase in the likelihood that
parties to a family law dispute can resolve the dispute while preserving a positive relationship.
This can be quite valuable when there will be a
need to maintain a co-parenting relationship with the other party and/or when preserving as positive
a relationship as possible is important based on a party's values.
The attorneys involved have specialized training in family law dispute
resolution and will not create or worsen conflict.
Collaborative law uniquely incorporates other professionals into the
process, such as mental health professionals and financial specialists, who can contribute to the overall result of the process.
The parties maintain control over the process, and are assured that
neither party has to face the risk or fear of an unknown, imposed decision.
Matters involved in the case are comparatively much more private
than when using litigation.
Collaborative family law allows the parties, working together with
their attorneys, to explore creative solutions to meet their circumstances.
There is the potential for cost savings.
While not necessarily a “low cost” alternative, by definition, all resources
are being expended directly toward resolving issues.
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4265 Niles Road • St Joseph
MI 49085 • Phone: 269.615.2450 • Fax: 269.428.3447 •
info@runklefamilylaw.com
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