Collaborate Divorce

Collaborative Divorce Compared to Mediation

Collaborative divorce combines aspects of mediation with aspects of an attorney-negotiated out-of-court settlement. As in an attorney-negotiated settlement, both parties retain their own legal counsel to act as their consultants and sometimes spokespersons. As in mediation: (1) the attorneys cannot later engage in any litigation situation which is potentially adverse to either party in the collaborative divorce case; (2) all communications leading up to the execution of a written settlement agreement are confidential and inadmissible in court; (3) all litigation is suspended during the negotiation process; and (4) both parties commit to the goal of taking care of their own interests while making sure that the other party’s interests are reasonably addressed as well. Building on the tradition of mediation, in collaborative divorce the needs of the children are elevated to a position where they receive as much attention as the needs of the adults. Collaborative divorce calls on each client to attend to the healthy functioning of the family system, as reconstituted by separation or divorce.

Collaborative Attorney and Communication Coach Team

Collaborative divorce enables the clients to build a professional collaborative team to suit the needs of their case. The team must at least include two collaborative attorneys, one for each client. In addition, the clients may use “communication coaches,” mental health professionals (MFT’s, LCSW’s, Ph.D.’s, or Psy.D.’s), who have been specially trained to provide divorce communication support and divorce counseling. Unresolved relationship issues and lack of mutual closure may subvert divorce negotiations and propel a case into adversarial litigation. Communication coaches create a safe zone for personal communication, where the parties may clear the air and get clarity on their own priorities before beginning legal negotiation with collaborative attorneys. How much the communication coaches are involved after initially helping the parties prepare for legal negotiations is up to the parties themselves on a case-by-case basis. Communication coaches have a short-term relationship with the clients, tied to facilitating the divorce negotiation process. They do not provide individual psychotherapeutic counseling either during or after the collaborative divorce process, and they do not take the place of any psychotherapist with whom a client may have a pre-existing relationship.

Neutral Consultants for Tax, Property, Financial Management, and Child Development

Additional collaborative experts whom the clients may utilize as neutral consultants to both parties include accountants, tax advisers, business evaluators, financial planners, real estate appraisers, and child development specialists. The child specialist is especially useful as a neutral mental health professional who checks in with the children to make sure that the divorce transition is not causing them undue anxiety, depression, school problems, etc. If any of these problems are present, the child specialist may make recommendations for further services for the children. The child specialist may also give important feedback to each client’s communication coach and collaborative attorney, to assist in negotiating child custody and parenting schedule arrangements.

Collaborative Divorce Professional Associations and Web-Sites

Faith Jansen is a member of Collaborative Practice East Bay, a collaborative divorce professional group located in the San Francisco East Bay Area (primarily Alameda and Contra Costa counties). (See www.collaborativepracticeeastbay.com. ) She is also a member of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals (IACP). (See www.collaborativepractice.com.)