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How Does Collaborative Family Law Work?

• Each party chooses his/her own CL attorney.
  • The best way to insure you choose a trained, highly qualified CL attorney is to choose an attorney from the CLCA brochure, or click on the Membership Directory link on this website.
  • Click here to go to the Membership Directory now (it will open in a separate window).
• Parties and attorneys meet to sign a CL participation agreement.
  • The purpose of the participation agreement is so everyone involved in the process knows the rules regarding Collaborative Law. The participation agreement begins the "no-court" agreement that will keep you moving in a collaborative direction. Included in the participation agreement are topics such as communication, participating with integrity, negotiating in good faith, cautions and limitations, use of experts and consultants, no court intervention, disqualification, withdrawal of party or attorney, termination of CL process, confidentiality, rights and obligations of pending settlement, and enforceability.
• Initial meeting is set to determine the scope of the case and to discuss referrals to members of the interdisciplinary team who may be helpful in the process.
  • The initial four-way meeting involves both parties and their respective attorneys. In this meeting, pressing issues are addressed to stabilize the family situation. Also, information will be gathered that will help everyone determine what types of professionals should be involved on the team and to develop a schedule of meetings that should take place in order to get specific issues resolved.
  • Why use an Interdisciplinary Team? Click here to find out more about the uses of a team and what types of professionals might be used (this will open in a separate window).
• Referrals are made to team members.
  • After discussion regarding what types of professionals should be involved, team members are selected and it is decided which party will make the initial contact and schedule meetings. Attorneys will insure that selected professionals are contacted so that essential information can be provided to support the referrals.
• Subsequent meetings are held, involving attorneys or other professionals, as necessary, until settlement is reached.
  • There is no "cookie-cutter" way to structure Collaborative Law, simply because every case in unique with it's own needs and requirements. Therefore, different combinations of meetings and professionals will take place in order to bring the case to completion. The beauty of CL is that parties can be confident their case will get personalized attention every step of the way.
• Communication among team members continues.
  • Professionals will continue to communicate with one another through meetings, telephone calls, and e-mail, in order to facilitate settlement and problem-solving, as necessary.
• Agreement is drafted, submitted to the court, and signed by a judge.
  • This is the culmination of hours of hard work and cooperation among the parties and professionals. There is no greater satisfaction for divorcing professionals than to complete a Collaborative Law case, knowing they have done their very best work to facilitate a positive future for a family in crisis. And there is no greater satisfaction for a divorcing couple than to know that they have ended their marriage with a measure of dignity and respect.