THE COLLABORATIVE LAW PROCESS:  RESOLVING FAMILY DISPUTES WITH DIGNITY

The court system's litigation process is often not a "family friendly" or a "child friendly" environment to resolve family disputes such as divorce, custody or child support issues. Parents, spouses, relatives and friends are sometimes forced to take sides in a courthouse dispute that pits the parties against each other in a litigation "war."  Families participating in the court system's litigation process risk the destruction of family relationships, financial destruction and long term emotional wounds as a consequence of bitter courtroom battles.

Over the course of the last ten years, lawyers, mental health professionals and financial professionals have been working to develop the collaborative process as an alternative to the litigation process to resolve emotional family disputes such as divorce, custody and child support issues with as little damage to relationships and family finances as possible. The goal of the collaborative process is to provide a way to resolve family disputes that is more "user friendly" than the traditional litigation process.

While there will always be cases where people will need the power and force of the court system to protect and defend rights, there are many family disputes that can be resolved more peaceably and less destructively using the collaborative process.

A. WHAT IS THE COLLABORATIVE PROCESS?

In short, the collaborative process is a settlement process that focuses on helping families resolve their disputes without going to court. The collaborative process focuses on creating a safe environment for the parties to express, negotiate and resolve conflict without going to court.

B. HOW DOES THE COLLABORATIVE PROCESS WORK?

The collaborative process works by using three approaches to resolving family disputes. First the collaborative process has a well defined set of "ground rules" and structure in the form of a written "collaborative law participation agreement" that all parties agree to and sign at the beginning of the case. Second, the collaborative process follows a step by step "road map" that guides the parties through logical and orderly steps to help the parties define, discuss and resolve their conflict. Third, the collaborative law process often involves neutral mental health and financial experts as part of a collaborative team to provide neutral expert advice and guidance to help the parties and their attorneys more efficiently resolve the dispute.

For more information on collaborative law:

 Collaborative Law Group of Austin Website  

 Collaborative Law Institute of Texas Website