What is Collaborative Divorce?
Collaborative divorce involves each party retaining a collaboratively trained attorney who will represent them throughout the process.  Uniquely, the parties and their attorneys agree to work collaboratively and constructively to come to agreement without resorting to the Courts.  In fact, if either party or attorney threatens court action (or behaves in a way that threatens the collaborative principles within which all have agreed to work), then both attorneys are bound to withdraw from the matter and the clients then need to seek alternative representation.  The focus of collaborative divorce is one of problem-solving and creativity in order to create two new family structures that work effectively for the best interests of the children and the parents.

Utilizing the Appropriate Professional
Collaborative practitioners value the involvement of other professionals in the collaborative team.  In particular, because divorce is considered to be more of an emotional event than a legal event, divorce coaches, who are trained mental health professionals, are used to coach the parties on communication, negotiation, and parenting matters.  Financial professionals, typically CPAs or Certified Divorce Financial Analysts, are often included to centralize the collection and analysis of the financial information and help the parties to reach agreement on the financial aspect of the settlement.

Isn't Collaborative Law Expensive?
The cost of a divorce depends to a large extent on the goals and attitudes of the parties and how different their views are of an equitable settlement.  If the parties goals are to "win" at all costs, then a litigation approach will be the selected method and it is likely to be very expensive.  If the parties are pretty much in agreement and do not have difficult legal issues, then pro se or mediation (with or without attorneys) can be a cost effective approach.  If the parties have more complicated issues, need legal representation, and most important, want to try to come out of the divorce process with a framework that will support and enhance good co-parenting, then collaborative divorce is likely to be the best option. Because collaborative law tends to use the appropriate professional for each task in the process, it tends to be a cost effective approach, both in the short term for reaching and agreement, and in the long run, because the agreement that is reached is well thought out and agreed to by both parties.