The Approach

Collaborative practice utilizes experts from the areas of law, mental health and finances. To begin with, separating or divorcing partners each retain an attorney that is specially trained in Collaborative Practice. Depending upon the needs of the parties, the attorneys will suggest the inclusion of additional, professional team members. Team members typically include:

A Divorce Coach assists parties in dealing more effectively with their emotions. The coaches also help parties communicate positively, prioritize needs and goals, maintain a future orientation, and extinguish self-defeating behaviors.

A Child Specialist helps parents recognize the needs of the children and create a
parenting plan that best meets those needs.

A Financial Specialist assists the parties in gathering, organizing and understanding their financial information and provides specialized financial and tax advice to maximize the financial benefit

The parties meet privately with their team members and negotiate in good faith. The professionals and the parties are required to fully disclose, negotiate in good faith and refrain from filing petitions and motions with the court. If a party resorts to the court system or fails to fully disclose, all the professionals, including the attorneys, must withdraw from the process and cannot represent the parties in litigation.

The integrated model of collaborative practice provides the couple with the services they need from the professionals most qualified to address the complex issues of separation and divorce. The collaborative professionals work together to help couples achieve an outcome that would not be possible without cooperative team involvement, which is the cornerstone of the collaborative law process.

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