| Collaborative
Law, or mediation, is a form of Alternative
Dispute Resolution (ADR) which allows
both parties to avoid going to court.
In the process of
Collaborative Law each spouse hires
an attorney and all 4 individuals
sign a "Collaborative Law Participation
Agreement". By signing this agreement
each spouse agrees to participate
in coming to a divorce resolution-
avoiding the high costs of going to
court. This type of ADR has been found
to keep divorce civil, cooperative,
and can even speed up the divorce
process, as you are not at the mercy
of the court's schedule. Another benefit
to choosing Collaborative Law is that
because you and your spouse are able
to work together on an agreement,
there tends to be a greater chance
that you will both follow through.
Collaborative law,
unlike mediation and arbitration,
provides you with trained legal counsel,
without the court costs. A divorce
handled in court can run $20,000 and
up, where as the costs involved with
collaborative law average $2,000-$3,000.
Here are the facts:
- Not every lawyer can practice
Collaborative law. Collaborative
lawyers are trained in collaborative,
non-combative resolution techniques.
- You and your lawyer and your
spouse and their lawyer must sign
a "Collaborative Law Participation
Agreement". This 5 page document
lays out, for all parties involved,
how the divorce will proceed.
Once signed, you are all bound
to create an agreeable and legally
binding agreement without going
to court.
- Part of the "participation
agreement" stipulates that
if you are unable to come to an
agreement you will not be allowed
to retain your same attorney when
taking your case to court. This
aspect of the agreement provides
strong encouragement for both
parties to work hard at "working
it out".
- Outside professionals such as
mediators or non-collaborative
lawyers are allowed in the negotiations,
however, their participation must
be pre-approved by all parties
involved and they must agree to
not threaten to go to court.
- Because you are not waiting
for the court to schedule hearings,
you create the time line for your
divorce.
- Your divorce, as in mediation
and arbitration, is kept out of
the public realm unlike taking
your divorce to court.
- Collaborative law creates a
"team" atmosphere from
day one, compared to the adversarial
atmosphere of the courtroom.
To learn more about
Collaborative Law visit the following
websites:
Collaborativelaw.com, Nocourtdivorce.com,
Divorceservice.com
(Canadian) |
