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There are
some basic concepts
to Collaborative Family
Law that are considered
essential to all cases.
The parties
acknowledge that the
essence of
“Collaborative Law” is
the shared belief by
participants that it is
in the best interests of
parties and their
families in typical
Family Law matters to
commit themselves to
coming to agreement on
all issues and avoiding
litigation. The parties
adopt a conflict
resolution process,
which does not rely on a
Court-imposed
resolution, but
emphasizes
self-determination and
relies on an
atmosphere of honesty,
cooperation, integrity
and professionalism
geared toward the future
well being of the family.
The goal is to minimize,
if not eliminate, the
negative economic,
social and emotional
consequences of
protracted litigation to
the participants and
their families. The
parties commit
themselves to the
collaborative family law
process and agree to
seek a better way to
resolve our differences
justly and equitably.
The parties
commit themselves to
settling our case
without court
intervention. They
agree to give
full, honest and open
disclosure of all
relevant information,
whether requested or
not. They further agree
to provide any document
or information
requested, without need
for justification. They
agree to engage in
informal discussions and
conferences to settle
all issues.
The Parties agree to
participation
with integrity. They
agree
to protect the privacy,
respect and dignity of
all involved, including
parties, attorneys and
experts. They agree to
maintain a high standard
of integrity and
specifically shall not
take advantage of each
other or of the
miscalculations or
inadvertent mistakes of
others, but shall
identify and correct
them. They understand
that divorce entails
much more than the legal
issues and process. They
further understand that
the collaborative
process involves
thinking and negotiating
in a manner in which we
may not be familiar, and
which is different from
traditional position
based problem solving.
They therefore agree to
include consultations
with collaborative
divorce coaches (or
possibly a single coach)
to help them understand
and learn the
collaborative thought
process and to help them
work within that
process.
The parties agree to
negotiate in good faith.
They understand that the
process, even with full
and honest disclosure,
will involve vigorous
good faith collaboration
and negotiation. They
will be expected to take
a reasoned position in
all disputes. Where
such positions differ,
they will be encouraged
to use our best efforts
to create proposals that
meet the fundamental
needs of both of them
and if necessary to
compromise to reach a
settlement of all
issues. Although they
may discuss the likely
outcome of a litigated
result, they will not
use threats of
litigation as a way of
forcing settlement.
The Attorneys’ role
is to provide an
organized framework that
will make it easier for
the parties to reach an
agreement on each issue.
The attorneys will help
the parties communicate
with each other,
identify issues, ask
questions, make
observations, suggest
options, help them
express needs, goals and
feelings, check the
workability of proposed
solutions and prepare
and file all written
paperwork for the court.
The attorneys and the
parties shall work
together to reach a
solution, which serves
the needs of both
parties.Each
attorney is independent
from other attorneys who
may participate in a
collaborative family law
association or practice
group affiliation. Only
one party in the
collaborative process
has retained each
attorney. The parties
understand that each
collaborative lawyer is
an advocate for only one
of the two parties.
There are some
cautions that need
to be considered in all
cases where out of court
settlement is a part of
the process.
Collaborative Law is no
exception. The parties
understand there is no
guarantee that the
collaborative process
will be successful in
resolving their case.
They understand that the
collaborative process
cannot eliminate
concerns about the
disharmony, distrust and
apparently
irreconcilable
differences that have
led to the current
conflict. They
understand that they are
still expected to assert
our respective interests
and that our respective
attorneys will help each
of them do so.
The costs
of the Collaborative
model may or may not be
financially similar to
litigation. However, the
Collaborative Law
process recognizes that
there are more than
financial costs in any
divorce, to the
long-term health of the
post divorce family and
the process aims to
minimize those costs
that are often
overlooked in
litigation.
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