SEATTLE COLLABORATIVE DIVORCE LAWYER

What Is Collaborative Divorce?

Collaborative Divorce (or Legal Separation) is a voluntary process in which divorcing or separating spouses and their attorneys agree in advance to not go to court and instead commit to working together as a team - collaboratively and in good faith – so the spouses can reach a mutually agreeable settlement.

How it works

1. Each spouse/partner hires their own collaboratively credentialed* attorney to represent them in the collaborative divorce process. The attorneys and spouses/partners form a “team” (negating the concept of “opposing counsel”) and all will sign a collaborative participation agreement that explains the Collaborative Divorce Process and lays out the ground rules that define the entire process.

*In Collaborative Divorce cases, the attorneys and neutral professionals must be collaboratively credentialed with specialized training in Collaborative Law and possess their professional mediation certification. 

2. In addition to the spouses and attorneys, the “Collaborative Team” often includes a neutral Certified Divorce Financial Advisor and Family Systems Coach. The Team is focused on learning about the spouses’ individual goals and gathering relevant information (finances, parenting styles, communication issues, etc.) from them, educating and advising them about options, and helping them to discover creative solutions that lead to a final agreement - one which maximizes their resources. This collaborative team effort provides the healthiest approach to restructuring the family without damaging or dismantling it, and a meaningful and durable outcome designed to prevent future conflict or court intervention.
3. The cornerstones of Collaborative divorce require the spouses to:
   • Be fully transparent with all information that is available to them concerning their finances and children. 
   • Agree to work together with their attorneys and neutral professionals to reach a mutually agreeable settlement that meets both of their most important needs, goals, and concerns to the greatest extent possible. 
   • Commit to working together in good faith and not threaten to go to court.

In the unlikely event that the spouses are unable to resolve their case within the Collaborative divorce process, a professional disqualification clause in the Participation Agreement requires all Collaborative divorce team professionals be disqualified from further representation of the spouses, and all information gathered during the Collaborative process be precluded from use in future litigation unless agreed to by both spouses. 

4. During the process, the team will gather for a series of 2-hour Joint Team Meetings where information gathered and synthesized between meetings will be reviewed and analyzed by all, and the professionals provide the spouses with guidance and creative options eventually leading to a mutually agreeable outcome.
5. Once the mutually agreeable settlement has been reached, the attorneys will draft and process the legal documents with the court, often fully eliminating the need for the spouses to appear in court, ever.