You and your partner have made the decision to separate. It can be a painful process raising questions that affect every part of your life. Will my children be okay? How are we going to co-parent? Where am I going to live? Am I going to have enough money to pay my bills? While worrying about how you are going to sort it all out you might have visions of endless conflict, spiraling court costs, and desperately unhappy children. But there is another path to working out the complicated details of reconfiguring your family. It’s called collaborative family law.
What is Collaborative Family Law and is it right for you?
In collaborative family law, couples make a commitment to exchange information freely and to make resolutions that respect shared goals. They agree not to use the court for their decision-making. Each partner has a collaborative lawyer as well as access to other professionals specializing in finance, relationship coaching, and child wellbeing. The professionals on the collaborative team promise to use their specialized skills and training to help both partners reach an agreement.
The collaborative law process works best when the separating couple has mutual respect for one another. That doesn’t mean that they will agree on everything, but they do have to agree to working out differences through a negotiated process. If you’re having trouble picturing how this works, read these short case studies on the Evan’s Family Law website.
Who knows your family best, you or a judge?
It’s no secret that the court system can become more about winning and losing instead of what’s best for families when it comes to issues involving separation and divorce. It’s often the court process itself that increases the level of conflict.
All of us at Evans Family Law think the best people to make important decisions about your family are you and your partner. A process that encourages respect, dignity, openness, and fairness will help you make the best decisions for now and the future. Every day we see professional teams trained in non-confrontational negotiation help families craft successful agreements.
If you want a respectful, dignified, and supportive process that allows you and your partner to make decisions based on what you both believe is in your best interests, collaborative family law may be right for you. If you would like to make decisions in an environment that is non-confrontational and supportive, choosing collaborative family law may be your best next step for moving forward with your separation or divorce.
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By Greg Evans
The lawyers at Evans Family Law all have specialized training to provide legal services using the collaborative family law process. If you want to find out more, we’d be happy to talk with you. Contact us today.