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Legal Issues
WATCH: Can a New Jersey court drug testing of the parents when determining custody?
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 […]
If one of the parties has a personality disorder, is it still possible to pursue the collaborative process?
Yes. As part of their training, collaborative lawyers learn how to deal with high-conflict individuals. We are also trained with mental health professionals providing guidance on how to identify people who have personality disorders. There’s a range of people on the spectrum, some of whom are on the low end and are very easily able […]
Have you ever experienced a case where somebody was clearly using the collaborative process to delay the divorce outcome?
Perhaps if they never intended to go through with the process and planned to torpedo it at the end so both parties would have to go back to square one?
What happens if a couple doesn’t reach a settlement during the collaborative process?
Statistically, approximately 88% of all cases that start off in collaboration are resolved through collaboration. If you’re looking at the 12% that perhaps transition to litigation, that’s what happens when the collaborative process reaches an impasse that can’t be otherwise resolved. One or both of the attorneys would submit a notice of termination of the […]
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