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Why Collaborative Law?

by The Beaulier Law Office

Collaborative law is a process that was created by lawyers as a bloodless alternative for resolving family law and divorce issues. Let's face it, what are your options? In the Court process we have all heard the horror stories where cases rage on for months and even years after the divorce is concluded. Often, spouses and former spouses accuse each other of impropriety, infidelity and abuse. Moreover, children suffer as parents argue over issues of custody, control and parental alienation. In the end, when the smoke finally clears, bankruptcy often looms on the horizon for both parties and, much like nuclear war, there is no winner, only scorched earth.

Why does this occur? Our judicial system is imperfect at best. By its very structure, it pits divorcing parties against each other as adversaries. Moreover, in our "no fault" divorce system, it ignores the emotional nature of the proceedings and leaves parties feeling helpless and without a voice. This is compounded by the time constraints faced by Court administrators and Judge's with their ever expanding case loads. Imagine trying to fit all necessary information about your ten year marriage into a five hour trial. Then, you must rely on a Judge who is a total stranger to your family to make some of the most important decisions in your life. In most cases, the result is like trying to pound a round peg into a square hole. Generally, Courts lack creativity and use a cookie cutter approach to such issues as parenting schedules and property divisions. Over and over again we see Court orders that include visitation schedules with alternating weekends and alternating holidays. Certainly, there must be a better way to address those issues.

In a nutshell, the Collaborative law process is divorce without war.In that process, emotional issues are recognized as an important part of the divorce and healing process. Those issues, along with the legal issues, are addressed from a problem solving perspective. This problem solving perspective allows for greater creativity where each party helps to craft an innovative agreement that works for them. The process is also designed to allow a free exchange of necessary information and the use of outside experts regarding difficult decisions.

Through this process, there are a number of benefits which include:

• Reducing Legal Expenses
• Teaching Parties how to Communicate and Resolve Issues into the future
• Allowing Parties Increased Creativity in Settlements
• Resulting in More Rapid Resolutions
• Concluding proceedings with Agreements that are more likely to be followed and binding

How Does it Work?

Collaborative law is a voluntary process in which each party retains a collaborative law attorney. As part of the retainer agreement, each party agrees to commit to the following terms:

• Each party will participate with an open mind
• Each party agrees to be innovative
• Each party agrees to remain respectful of the other (that does not mean that you always agree)
• Each party agrees to openly and honestly disclose all assets and liabilities without costly formal discovery
• Each party agrees to use neutral experts for difficult issues rather than having each party hire their own expert which often results in a court room showdown of costly expert witnesses
• Finally each party enters into a contract with their attorney that the matters will be addressed and settled without adversarial court room proceedings. If the matter becomes contested and must proceed to Court, the Collaborative law attorney is required to withdraw from the case and a new lawyer must be hired.

Issues are generally discussed through the collaborative law method in face to face meetings. Each case is treated as individual. Where there is conflict, outside experts are agreed upon by the parties and costs divided. These experts help to form a Collaborative law team . Although experts may help in any number of areas, the most common include:

• Accountants for complex tax or financial issues
• Parenting Consultants, Psychologists or Parenting Coaches for parenting and custody issues
• Therapists regarding depression, anger or separation issues
• Appraisers for family businesses or real estate
• Real Estate Agents for sales information
• Financial Consultants regarding investments
• Vocational Experts regarding employability issues
• Physicians and Chiropractors regarding health issues

Much like the attorneys, the experts can not be used as witnesses in Court.

Divorce in this context is treated much like a mountain climbing expedition. The participants, the attorneys and the experts are all tethered together and seeking a common goal. In that context, following the agreed upon rules is best for the entire expedition and the collaborative law attorneys fill the role of guides.

This article provided by Infidelity.com