Collaborative Law – All You Need To Know
Posted on 25. Feb, 2010 by admin in General
Ending a marriage can be a painful and extremely troubling time for a couple. As a relationship has broken down, previous good relations may turn sour, with couples facing each other across a courtroom. The divorce process can be both lengthy and expensive, leaving permanent financial and emotional scars on parties involved and their family. However, the rise of collaborative law in the UK offers an easier way to end a marriage in a focused and dignified manner, with a couple remaining in control of their own affairs.
Collaborative law has been established in Canada and the USA for some time, reaching the UK in 2003. It offers the chance for a different way to finish a marriage rather than going through mediation or going to court. During a collaborative law process, both parties involved meet, along with their respective solicitors, in ‘four way’ discussions, usually held at the office of either solicitor. The solicitors will also arrange meetings face to face or on the telephone, compared with the distant approach of phone and postal correspondence involved in many divorce cases. Before these meetings take place, each person will meet separately with their solicitor to discuss their individual needs and instructions for their representatives. As the process begins, those involved will also sign an agreement to state that they will not take a case to court, as they attempt to reach a final settlement. If one or both parties decide to take the divorce case to court, new solicitors must be appointed, as this is a condition of collaborative law, and collaborative lawyers cannot act for their clients in court. This is also the case if agreement cannot be mutually agreed at the end of a collaborative period. Both parties must have hired trained collaborative lawyers, as they have learned special skills that will help guide their clients towards a mutually agreed finish.
Collaborative law offers the chance for a couple to keep a dignified and respectful relationship, even after divorce, and to make the best arrangements for the care of, if involved, any children they may have. Another condition of collaborative law is that the couple must make full financial disclosures so that any post-marriage deals can be agreed, such as childcare and other areas. Collaborative law differs from mediation as both parties will have their own lawyers there in any meetings to advise and guide them at each stage of the discussions. A first meeting will usually involve the setting of an agenda for negotiations by a couple, and a central part of collaborative law is that meetings are not given a timeframe by a court, so can be held and progressed by the needs of individual couples and their family.
Though there is no easy way in which to end a relationship, collaborative law can help to avoid the aggression and bitterness that has followed many divorce cases. Where children are involved, collaborative law also helps to put their interests first in a divorce case, and to keep negotiations as civil as possible. Once a settlement has been reached, an agreement can be signed and lawyers involved can submit the paperwork to a court for approval. In the interests of moving on from a broken marriage, collaborative law offers an alternative solution to a painful situation.
((Divorce is often a very upsetting and stressful. If it is right for you and your spouse, appointing an experienced collaborative law solicitor can make the whole divorce much less painful.