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WHAT IS COLLABORATIVE DIVORCE (AND WHAT IS IT NOT)?
- It is a method of handling divorce cases designed to lead to settlement with an minimum of acrimony between the parties.
- It is voluntary on all
parts. Both parties and both attorneys must agree, in writing, to use collaborative divorce. Certain cases or certain clients may not be appropriate for use of Collaborative divorce.
- Most attorneys practice collaborative divorce anyway. For most cases, it is merely formalizing what we have been doing on an informal basis.
- The key to Collaborative Divorce is that the parties and their attorneys must agree at the outset that the case will be settled, not contested. If
the case cannot be settled, both attorneys must withdraw. It is anticipated that withdrawal will be a very rare event, as most cases settle anyway and the additional aspect of mandatory withdrawal will make
contests even more rare.
- A Collaborative Divorce contains the following elements:
a. No contested court hearings. Even temporary
arrangements will be negotiated.
b. Both sides must make full and complete disclosure
and fully cooperate with all reasonable discovery
requests on an informal basis.
c. No formal discovery.
d. No "attack" letters, threats or intimidation.
e. No
unilateral appraisals. All appraisals will be joint.
6. Advantages of Collaborative Divorce:
a. It will attract clients who want/need a divorce, but
are terrified of the cost and/or the process harming
their children.
b. It will avoid the unnecessary costs to clients which
are incurred by trial preparation costs when the
case settled short of trial.
c. It v/ill avoid the emotional costs incurred when a
party attempts to intimidate the other with threats of
going to trial.
d. It will lead to more satisfied clients, who will be
more pleased with the process, more pleased with
their lawyer and more willing to pay fees.
7. Disadvantages of Collaborative Divorce:
a. Lawyers will make less money from inefficient use
of their time, arising from trial preparation for cases
which settle and unnecessary formal discovery and
court hearings.
b. The occasional, but rare, necessity to withdraw from
a case, even though the lawyer believes that the
other side is being unreasonable.
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