FAMILY LAW

COLLABORATIVE DIVORCE / PATERNITY / MODIFICATION

The Gold Standard for Resolving Family Law Disputes

Allowing Families to Go through the process without being destroyed by the process!

WHAT IS COLLABORATIVE DIVORCE

Collaborative Divorce is a team approach that resolves disputes without litigating the conflict through the court system. In the Collaborative Divorce process, you are in control. Family stress is reduced and professional time is used more efficiently, often resulting in lower costs and quicker results than litigated cases.

When choosing a professional who has been trained in the collaborative process, then they are trained to focus on the client’s best interest and to design constructive solutions which will safeguard the well-being of all family members.

Collaborative Divorce is an alternative to the adversarial divorce process where professionals and the spouses or partners commit in writing to work together to help the parties reach a divorce settlement out of court which addresses the needs and interests of the parties and their family.

In a Collaborative Divorce, each party is represented by his or her own collaborative attorney. Additionally, other collaborative professionals such as a financial neutral and mental health neutral are often incorporated into the process. All professionals have been specifically trained to work in the interdisciplinary collaborative divorce model as a team. The focus is on the overall well-being of the entire family, as the team seeks to both reduce conflict and generate constructive solutions. While the attorneys still provide advice and counsel to their clients within the collaborative framework, the goal is no longer “win-lose”, but rather “win-win.”

The objective of collaboration is to offer the parties a structured, non-adversarial process within which they can resolve parenting, financial, and property issues, utilizing the best professional talent and resources available. In collaboration, all participants sign a written agreement to address all issues without court involvement. This approach creates an atmosphere of open communication and cooperation which assists the couple in shaping agreements which will meet the needs of their restructured family.

WHY DOES IT MATTER

BECAUSE PEOPLE MATTER! The Collaborative Divorce process provides a platform to facilitate resolution of all issues associated with a divorce while preserving dignity, respect, and self-determination.

Using the Interest-based bargaining method of negation, parties are able to focus on underlying concerns, needs or interest of the parties instead of arguing for specific positions or solutions. This type of bargaining allows the parties to understand the underlying motive or concern of the other party, which facilitates conversation, creativity and cooperative negotiations.

Position-based or positional bargaining is the traditional method of bargaining. The parties each commit to a position early in the process and think only of their own wants and needs. It is an adversarial method of bargaining and pits the parties against one another, which facilitates further conflict and ongoing negative emotions.

ROLES OF THE COLLABORATIVE TEAM

Lawyers are natural problem solvers; however, in conventional litigation, they tend to pull in opposite directions. Collaborative lawyers can only succeed if they find not only solutions to their own clients’ problems but constructive ways of addressing the other party’s concerns that are satisfactory to their client.

A Collaborative Attorney:

• Assists clients in gathering and analyzing information;
• Helps clients examine needs and interests to develop settlement options and packages;
• Helps clients evaluate consequences and limitations of possible solutions;
• Helps clients evaluate settlement options in the context of established legal precedents;
• Prepares the required legal documentation of the agreement and files divorce papers to obtain the Final Judgment of Divorce.

Frequently one party in the divorce is less informed when it comes to the family finances. That party may react in a number of ways such as terror, curiosity, or feeling overwhelmed. Having a financial neutral in the process can be beneficial in presenting the information in an understandable and non-biased format. Perhaps for the first time in their financial lives the parties may be able to look at their finances in a non-threatening environment.

A Collaborative Financial Neutral:

• Gathers financial data;
• Prepares parties’ financial affidavits;
• Develops different financial scenarios for parties to review and evaluate;
• Provides financial guidance, planning, support and budgeting throughout the divorce process, with follow up as needed;
• Explains the tax consequences of alternate solutions;
• Assists in evaluating assets that are part of the marital estate;
• Prepares child support guidelines.

A mental health neutral with specialized training in Collaborative Divorce, adds expertise by way of insight, guidance and tangible strategies to support the effectiveness of the Collaborative process.

Collaborative Mental Health Neutral:

• Helps clients develop and reinforce effective communication skills throughout the negotiation process;
• Helps clients increase awareness and perspective about the dynamics, between the couple, including their trigger points as well as their ways of managing conflict, in order to anticipate and prepare emotionally for the Collaborative meetings;
• Helps the team understand relevant aspects of the history and dynamics so as to work with maximal attunement and success with the clients;
• In families with children, the mental health neutral may develop parenting plans and co-parenting strategies to support the transition to two households.

COST OF LITIGATION VS COLLABORATIVE DIVORCE

Collaborative divorce is typically cheaper than litigating a case to trial because collaborative divorce does not involve the multitude of steps involved in preparing a case for trial, preparation for and attendance at numerous pre-trial hearings, and is generally resolved in a fraction of the time; although, it cannot be said that collaborative divorce is “cheap”. As in all legal processes, there are costs involved, including costs for all members of the collaborative team. Examples of cost savings to clients include having a mental health neutral work with the parties to create a parenting plan, and a financial neutral reviewing the family financial documents and preparing appropriate legal documents. In a typical litigated divorce, clients have to absorb paying two attorneys, at higher hourly rates, to review financial documents and preparing appropriate documents, and negotiating parenting plans, not to mention that attorneys will not have to prepare for or appear in court for any pre-trial hearings.

In Central Florida a lower cost Collaborative Divorce option is available to parties with a combined annual income of $100,000.00 or less. Collaborative attorneys and professionals who agree to participate in the One Case Collaborative Project agree to accept a reduced hourly rate to make the Collaborative divorce process available to more families. For more information and a link to a list of professionals in Central Florida willing to accept reduced-fee Collaborative cases, visit www.collaborativefamilydivorce.com, and locate the link under the Low Free Divorce tab.

PROS AND CONS OF A COLLABORATIVE DIVORCE:

PROS

• Each party is more involved with the process and in more control over the outcome. Only you know ALL of the facts in your case, which puts you in a much better position to make quality outcomes that affect your family, over that of a judge who only hears partial facts in a litigated case.
• You work with a team of professionals who work together to aid parties negotiate a suitable settlement.
• It is typically less expensive than litigating a divorce.
• There is far less stress and anxiety involved because you are playing a more active role in the outcome of the divorce, and because the focus is on underlying concerns, needs and interests of the parties and not on specific positions or solutions.
• Typically a settlement is reach before anyone files pleadings in divorce court. Once parties are in agreement on all issues of settlement and parenting, then a legally binding agreement is written, and once signed by both parties, the required documents are filed with the court for the approval of a judge. This keeps court filings to a minimum, which helps to provide more confidentiality to the parties.
• Because the parties and members of the Collaborative team have worked together to create a unique resolution specific to your individual family, the number of instances of post-dissolution conflict is typically greatly reduced.

CONS

• None.

PATERNITY.  When a child or children are born outside of marriage a Paternity action is necessary to establish legal parental rights and responsibilities regarding the child(ren).  Paternity can be established even if a party denies being the biological parent.   Paternity can be established either by admission or by paternity test, and once established, rights and responsibilities toward the child(ren) begin.

MODIFICATION. Final Judgments in Divorce/Paternity cases are intended to be “final,” however, many times unexpected or substantial changes occur that warrant modifying the terms of the Final Judgment.  Modification may involve timesharing, child support, alimony, or even relocation out of the geographic area.  The Final Judgment can be modified either by agreement of the parties or by the Court under certain circumstances.