Getting Started in the Collaborative Divorce Process
Collaborative Divorce takes threats, hide-the ball tactics and court room battles off the table. It gives divorcing couples the choice to participate in a private, confidential process geared towards collective problem-solving. In a collaborative divorce, a team of professionals guides the couple through the emotional, legal and financial challenges facing them at the end of their marriage.
The process begins with each spouse consulting with and retaining his or her independent collaboratively trained attorney. The attorneys then confer about whether or not it is necessary to assemble an interdisciplinary team of professionals, including a divorce coach, child specialist, and/or financial neutral.
At the first meeting between collaborative attorneys and clients, everyone signs a Participation Agreement where they commit to negotiate respectfully, honestly, to voluntarily exchange documents and all material information and work together to find solutions to the legitimate needs of both parties, and, most importantly, their children.
The Collaborative Law process terminates if court action becomes and both attorneys are disqualified from any further involvement in the case.
There is a lot more to the process, so if the first steps above sound like the kind of divorce you wish to have, contact a collaboratively trained attorney to schedule a consultation.
Irene King is the Founder of King Collaborative Family Law in Charlotte, NC, where she practices exclusively collaborative family law and serves as a certified mediator of family conflict. She is committed to guiding clients in resolving their conflicts and rebuilding for the future with integrity and dignity.