Collaborative Law: A Kinder Gentler Divorce
If you are considering divorce, realize that there is another option to choose to accomplish your goal besides traditional litigation. The full-blown court battle, the divorce process people fear most, and rightly so, is not the only way to go about restructuring your life.
Collaborative family law is a new, highly-effective process in which each spouse hires a family lawyer committed to devising "win-win" agreements. It is a kinder, gentler alternative to the adversarial method commonly expected during dissolution of your marriage. It is a way for you and your spouse to intelligently work with trained professionals to resolve disputes respectfully, without going to court. Each spouse has the support and guidance of his or her own lawyer, and all four work together to arrive at a final marital settlement agreement.
Collaborative family law requires a contractual commitment from both spouses to engage in good-faith negotiation, full disclosure, acknowledgment of the other spouse's needs, protection of the children, and to avoid court proceedings. Other professionals, such as accountants, child development specialists and property appraisers, are retained jointly and work as neutrals. This commitment requires the withdrawal of these professionals, including your attorney, should you choose to abandon the collaborative process and wish to go to court.
Collaborative family law is the best choice for divorcing spouses who understand the need for a commitment to settlement, have the ability to compromise, and want the advantages of legal advice and problem-solving built into the settlement process without the stress of litigation. It can help spouses arrive at creative settlements even when the problems are complex. The settlement results can often be more creative than in traditional divorce proceedings, because neither lawyer succeeds in the job she or he was hired for unless both spouses' concerns are addressed in the settlement.
Attorney Michelle A. Barry enjoys a reputation for the ability to successfully resolve problems in ways that are constructive, cost-effective, and maximizing in the outcome to each spouse. Commitment to aggressive representation has its place in reaching a settlement agreement. Collaborative family law, however, uses a kinder, gentler approach, resulting in marital settlement agreements without resorting to any form of litigation or any intimidating adjudicatory procedures. Contact the law office of Michelle A. Barry to put this approach to work for you.
