The traditional litigated divorce is often what most people imagine when they picture divorcing spouses. Parties are individually represented by litigation counsel and each side negotiates their client’s divorce terms before a judge. In contrast, collaborative practice is a non-adversarial approach. In collaborative divorce, the spouses and their respective attorneys sign an agreement that they […]
Collaborative Family Law
The Benefits of Arbitration
Although arbitration may not be right for everyone and has a few drawbacks, it is clear that in most instances, arbitration provides many advantages over traditional litigation.
What happens if my spouse is dishonest in some way? I don’t trust him not to misuse the process to take advantage of me!
As you might expect, it is not uncommon that divorcing spouses may have trouble trusting one another. The collaborative process is predicated on the parties acting in good faith. As part of the agreement the parties sign, a collaborative attorney can withdraw if a party is willfully dishonest or is otherwise obstructing the collaborative process. […]
Is Family Law Ready for the Concept of ‘Conscious Uncoupling’?
After Gwyneth Paltrow announced her split from Chris Martin, the actress called the separation “conscious uncoupling.” This introduced couples to a more amicable way of divorcing. But are family lawyers ready for this concept?
What is a collaborative team? It sounds expensive!
At a minimum, the collaborative team consists of the two spouses and their two collaborative attorneys. The parties may also choose to utilize other professionals as needed, such as mental health professionals, child specialists, financial experts, etc. The parties and the attorneys work together with these professionals as a team to amicably create a settlement […]
What drew you to the collaborative process? Why did you become a collaborative lawyer?
I was litigating from 1982 to 2001 and did not have a mediation practice. I had been to court on a number of occasions and it seemed that when people walked out of the courtroom after receiving a result, no matter how good of a job I thought I’d done, no one was happy: not […]
If a couple doesn’t trust each other anymore, can they still use the collaborative process to settle their divorce?
Yes. The parties might not trust each other, but they can trust the financial expert and their lawyers. They can trust the professionals they’ve hired to help guide them through the process to reach a solution that works well for both parties, even if somebody had an affair and the parties don’t trust each other […]
If one spouse has moved out of state, can collaborative sessions be held via telephone or a chat program like Skype?
Sure. I’ve handled cases where one party lived in a remote region of China, or New York, or Minnesota, or Northern California. Maybe Los Angeles County happens to be the jurisdiction for their family law case, but the parties don’t have to be here because, unlike litigation where they have to show up to court, […]
Could a collaborative divorce be more expensive than a litigated divorce that only has two lawyers?
Usually the lawyers’ hourly rates are higher than those of the individual allied professionals, such as the financial expert, the mental health professional, or the child specialist. Rather than both attorneys trying to work out a parenting plan at their hourly rates combined – for instance, talking about whether Johnny should be picked up in […]
Are there other professionals involved in the collaborative process?
Yes. As needed, we can work with a child specialist, which is someone who will meet with the children; talk to them; get an indication of what their concerns, goals, and interests are; and find out what’s in their best interest. There are also other mental health professionals that operate not as therapists in collaborative […]
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