Collaborative Family Law Practice as compared to Traditional Litigation

English: Wedding rings Português: Anéis de Noivado / Casamento (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The word “divorce” carries negative connotations in society, rightfully so. Sadly, the fact remains that nearly 50% of marriages end in divorce. But, the good news is, there is a better way to divorce and its called collaborative family practice. The main goals of the collaborative family law practice is to avoid court, save time and money, focus on the children and to allow you to control the divorce proceedings as part of a settlement team. The collaborative practice adheres to the principals of honesty and candor, cooperation and respect, integrity and dignity and professionalism. Ultimately, you and your spouse are in charge of the content of the final outcome or resolution whereas in traditional divorce litigation, the judge controls the process and makes the final decisions.

The collaborative process will involve many informal meetings and discussions with you, your spouse and both attorneys. Other professionals may also be part of the process such as financial professionals and mental health professionals. Your collaborative attorney will work with your spouse’s attorney to create a mutual settlement that satisfies both spouses. In a typical divorce action, the lawyers fight each other in court. Court can be particularly stressful for everyone involved and specifically the spouses who have done all the negotiating through their lawyers. The collaborative process allows for direct lines of communication between you and your team and your spouse and his team.

Many couples come to a divorce with hostile feelings. Often times, the feelings will intensify during the divorce proceedings because of its adversary nature. Collaborative law replaces the fighting that takes place in a typical divorce action and replaces it with achieving fair solutions that are specifically tailored to the unique needs of your family.  Your collaborative family law attorney Daniel Selwa is available to discuss this unique process with you. Contact him today to discuss the collaborative law process and how it can benefit your family. 

Collaborative Family Law Process: Avoid Painful Litigation!

Suppose you and your spouse agree that you both want a divorce from one another and that you would like to avoid the traditional method of obtaining a divorce. Why? Perhaps you are worried about the stress and anxiety your children will experience if litigation ensues.  You may think that litigation is the only way for you and your spouse to obtain a divorce. However, you can avoid litigation by electing and choosing the collaborative law process. Regarding issues concerning the children, the collaborative process aims to minimize the trauma to the children’s lives.  A collaborative agreement may contain clauses that include such things as 'there should be no discussion of settlement issues in front of the children', that 'there should be no interrogation of the children', that 'access to the children will not be withheld and children will not be removed from the area'.

The collaborative process involves several informal meetings and discussions outside of the courtroom between you, your spouse, and your attorney as well as your spouse’s attorney. Other professionals may also be involved in the collaborative process and these professionals may include financial advisors, and mental health professionals. The goal of the collaborative process is to find an acceptable settlement of all issues for both you and your spouse.

The collaborative process is a recommended process because it represents an alternative option that allows disputes to be resolved more resourcefully and economically. The process is client driven and as such it allows the client to make the big decisions regarding family law issues such as divorce. All that you need to start the collaborative process is a mutual agreement with your spouse to pursue this alternative method of settling your dispute outside of the courtroom and an attorney who has been trained in the collaborative process.  Daniel Selwa is a trained collobarative law practicioner.  

Divorce is not an easy process; it affects the spouses and their families respectively. But, you making the decision along with your spouse to choose the family law collaborative process can make the process easier. Let Daniel Selwa guide you and your family as your family lawyer in this new innovative practice. 

Choose Collaborative Family Law Practice

Traditional methods of separation and divorce can cause a severe emotional crisis for all of those involved including spouses, children and other close family members. Collaborative law focuses on a settlement outside of the courtroom. Become part of the change; participate in collaborative family law practice today. The purpose of collaborative law is to provide a setting that encourages an honest exchange of information by both spouses that will take into account the best interests of both the adults and children involved. Collaborative law utilizes interdisciplinary team members including child specialists, financial consultants, divorce coaches, mediators and collaborative lawyers in order to assist you in reaching a timely and cost effective settlement of all issues relating to a divorce.

How do you know whether collaborative law is right for you? Often, people fall prey to the myth that collaborative law is for couples who are basically in agreement and get along but that is simply not true! Collaborative law is for those that agree they want to use a non-adversarial dispute resolution process.

What are the benefits of choosing collaborative law versus choosing the traditional route of litigation? In collaborative law practice, you and your spouse control the process and make the final decisions instead of the judge who controls the process and makes the final decisions in litigation. You and your spouse will communicate directly with the assistance of members of your team in a collaborative practice whereas in litigation you and your spouse negotiate through your lawyers solely. In litigation, divorces often get ugly because the spouses are involved in a process that is based on an adversarial system whereas in collaborative practice you and your spouse pledge mutual respect and openness.

Your attorney is critical in the collaborative law process. Your collaborative attorney will address the legal aspects of the divorce including parenting plans, division of property and assets, child and spousal support and the legal process. You will be supported and represented by your own lawyer during the process. You will also be able to communicate with your spouse and his lawyer in resolving your issues in an informal setting. Your spouse and his attorney are treated as part of a settlement team, not as adversaries.

Daniel A. Selwa, II, is certified as a collaborative law practicioner.  Make Daniel Selwa your collaborative family law attorney today. He has participated and completed the collaborative law training and has successfully been practicing family law for 8 years. Choosing collaborative law practice instead of litigation can save you time and money but more importantly can save you from the stress of a lingering adversarial process involved in litigation. Make the mature choice, make the choice for your children, choose collaborative law.