Collaborative Law Attorney
The process that you choose to end your marriage with is going to have a far-reaching impact on the custodial, financial and emotional outcome. Depending upon where you live, you might have options of mediation, traditional litigation, traditional negotiation, or something called collaborative family law or collaborative practice.
What is collaborative family law though? This is a great question, because it is something that is not talked about very often. Collaborative family law is just one process available in a range of options for the termination of the marriage. Obviously on one end of the option is a couple sitting down at the kitchen table and reviewing the agreement and all of their issues with no outside help, and on the other extreme end of that is litigation in court.
However there has been considerable research focused on divorce and how it affects children, and in every study the conclusion is the same which is: high levels of parental conflict are toxic to your children. Collaborative family law helps you to focus your energies on a good divorce, therefore if your marriage must and for whatever reason, it ends in a healthy way that will allow you and your ex partner to co-parent your children healthfully after divorce.
Your collaborative law attorney will be able to give you more information about the research behind collaborative family law. They will be able to help guide you through this process, because it is not an easy process to pick. Divorce is different, and for every divorce there may be hurt or mistrust or anger, and it’s very rare that a divorce does not have these emotions.
It is very easy to get lost in the emotions that you are feeling while getting a divorce and sometimes divorce is a taboo notion, that leaves people feeling ashamed, fearful and much more. Divorce can leave you feeling alone, especially if you have to figure out whether your lifestyle can be maintained without your spouse’s income. It’s not an easy task to do, but it is one that is doable.
In a collaborative family law case each spouse is represented with a lawyer who was trained in interest-based negotiation. This means that your collaborative family law attorney, such as the ones available at Hurst, Robin & Kay LLC, is going to be trained in interest negotiation. And what interest-based negotiation does is it ensures that your interests are protected.
When you are starting a CFL case the lawyers involved in the clients are going to enter into a contract called participation agreement. Your attorney is going to review this agreement with you and ensure that you understand everything involved, and that you feel comfortable with the terms laid out within. The agreement provides that every person involved is okay with their own attorney, and that everyone involved understands these four-way meetings with both spouses and their attorneys are confidential. The stuff that is set in these case meetings cannot be used in court if the couple decides to go to court later on.