Collaborative divorce.
Collaborative divorce.Divorce with respect: it’s a simple yet powerful concept. And for the past four years, collaborative divorce lawyers over in the US have joined forces each March to help promote the alternative dispute resolution process of collaborative divorce with Divorce With Respect Week. In Australia, while we don’t (as yet) have a Divorce With Respect Week, we do have collaborative divorce; in fact, it’s one of our firm’s specialties.
But what’s so great about collaborative divorce, anyway?
Why collaborative divorce means divorce with respect?
Originally started in 2021 in California and now reaching people all around the US, Divorce With Respect Week, held March 3 to 9, is a great way to shine a light on this non-litigious, empowering method of divorcing. Collaborative Practice California (CPCAL) is the American organisation responsible for the inception of Divorce With Respect Week. Its president, Mr Leslie Howell, says that the initiative “has grown, transformed, and educated people on how a divorce can be handled by working together rather than fighting it out in court.”
Many people are deeply dissatisfied with the family court system, but are perhaps unaware that they do have other options for resolving their family law matter. One such option is choosing the collaborative divorce method. Cost-conscious and time-efficient, a collaborative divorce helps couples proceed through divorce with as much civility and respect as possible, enabling them to control the outcome of their matter and create their own post-divorce parenting relationship.
With a collaborative divorce, you and your spouse are each represented by your own collaboratively trained lawyer. The four of you meet to discuss the issues in your dispute, receiving intensive help from the lawyers, who act as peacemakers rather than taking on a traditional adversarial role. Psychologists and neutral financial planners are also brought in as needed. Your lawyers and the professionals will help you and your spouse work as a team, so that you can identify your common interests, the concerns you each have, the range of choices available to you, and the solutions that you each find acceptable.
As with other forms of alternate dispute resolution, collaboration helps parents to protect children from a protracted, stressful, courtroom battle. Through the process, parents typically learn better communication skills and find co-parenting becomes easier because hostility is not allowed to build up.
Of course, not all splits are going to be suitable for a collaborative divorce. Sometimes, it’s just too tough due to animosity or other factors. Some situations will make a collaborative divorce impossible, including if family violence or child risk issues are present. For instance, if coercive control, fear, and intimidation are factors, this creates a power imbalance that makes it too hard to negotiate fairly, on a level playing field.
What if you try it but find it doesn’t work for you? If your case isn’t able to be settled through the collaborative process, the lawyers and other professionals involved are obliged to withdraw and aren’t allowed to represent you in any future litigation.
Clients retaining us to act for them in a collaborative divorce report feeling empowered and positive about their futures, which is the best outcome you can hope for when going through something as tough as divorce.
Here at Alliance Family Law, we have a special interest and expertise in collaborative divorce. We regularly attend training sessions and are part Collaborative Practice Canberra. Please contact Canberra family lawyer Cristina Huesch or one of our other experienced solicitors on (02) 6223 2400 for a no-obligation, cost-free first conference to discover the benefits of choosing the collaborative option, and to decide what process best suits your situation.
PLUS: Need some strategies for persuading your ex to consider collaborative divorce? Read our blog for tips.
