Collaborative Divorce

Collaborative Divorce is a contemporary means of resolving conflicts out of court, in a cooperative rather than adversarial paradigm.  The parties identify what is important to them in terms of their needs and interests, and the needs and interests of their children, and then explore in a respectful and dignified manner how they can best meet those needs and interests by allocating the resources at hand.  The process contemplates that each party be counseled by an attorney specially trained to assist the parties by avoiding “positions” and steadfastly focusing on needs, interests, and resources.  The goal of Collaborative Divorce is to minimize or eliminate the negative economic, social, and emotional impact of adversarial court litigation.  Through a series of meetings, and the utilization of mutually selected neutral financial and child experts, the parties pursue the objective of setting down on paper an acceptable agreement, oftentimes creating unique solutions outside of the conventional divorce settlement template.  In sum, the process is not merely a “touchy-feely” approach to settlement, but a true paradigm shift from the destructive adversarial process of litigation to addressing needs and interests in a cooperative and respectful manner.  In a true Collaborative Divorce, the attorneys and clients also agree that if the matter is not resolved collaboratively, the Collaborative Divorce attorneys resign and the case is turned over to litigators.