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 Law
What’s the difference between collaborative and litigated divorce?
Amy Zylman Shimalla, a family lawyer in Warren, New Jersey, explains the difference between collaborative and litigated divorce.
Is collaborative practice the right divorce process for our situation?
California family lawyer Joe Spirito explains that there is no “right divorce process” but the collaborative process is welcomed by many.
What if my spouse has chosen a lawyer who doesn’t know about collaborative practice?
Parties seeking a collaborative divorce should seek an attorney trained in collaborative practice, as this is a specialized area of the law. If your spouse’s attorney is not trained, they may be limited in their ability to facilitate the process for all involved parties. You may wish to encourage your spouse to choose a collaborative […]
How does collaborative practice actually work? Does it always work, or does it fail sometimes?
Once the parties and their attorneys enter into an agreement to proceed collaboratively, the parties then find a time to meet and discuss their expectations and objectives. These four-way conferences enable the parties to openly negotiate their interests and work together to craft an individualized settlement agreement. Since parties can tailor their settlement to their […]
What is the difference between collaborative practice and a traditional litigated divorce?
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 clients’ 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 […]
What is collaborative practice? Is it the same thing as collaborative law or collaborative divorce?
Collaborative practice is a form of voluntary dispute resolution that enables parties to reach a settlement agreement instead of litigating a matter. Collaborative divorce is a subset of collaborative practice in which spouses can obtain a divorce outside of the traditional process of litigation. While there are other forms of collaborative practice, collaborative divorce is […]
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, […]
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