What is the Collaborative Divorce Process?

In the mid-90s, a group of attorneys in the Midwest, fed up with recurring problems in litigating family disputes, developed what is now generally known as the Collaborative Law Model. In 2008, this model came to Alaska through the creation of the Alaska Association of Collaborative Professionals (AKACP). Jacob Sonneborn, an associate at Ashburn & Mason, is a founding member, and current co-chair, of AKACP and is proud to offer collaborative services to clients of the firm.

All divorces are fundamentally a restructuring of a family. Collaborative Divorce is based upon the reality that courts are not well-suited to this task. It starts with an agreement by the divorcing couple and their individually retained attorneys to forego litigation in favor of a process of meetings between themselves and their attorneys that constitute intense settlement discussions. The couple agrees to honest and full disclosure of information, and to remain respectful of each other throughout the process. To see what a Participation Agreement might look like, click here.

You and your partner or spouse must both agree to the process. You must also each retain your own collaboratively-trained attorney. Attorneys practicing Collaborative Law have thorough, specialized training, learned certain skills and procedures that allow them to facilitate difficult conversations, provide the necessary structure, and productively confront, rather than avoid, conflict. For a link to the AKACP website, and a complete list of attorneys practicing Collaborative Divorce in Alaska, click here.

As needed, other collaboratively-trained professionals may attend the meetings, including financial professionals, child specialists, and accountants. Neutral experts such as appraisers, CPA pension specialists and mortgage lenders may also provide valuable information and expertise to both parties. Both parties may also have a personal advisor, a psychologist or other mental health professional, called a divorce coach, to help them manage the emotional ups and downs of the divorce process.

If negotiations break down, or if either party decides to abandon the process or acts in an adversarial way that precludes an amicable settlement, all members of the Collaborative Divorce team, including both attorneys, must resign from the case. This provides a powerful incentive to continue with the often challenging job of crafting a settlement which is fair to all members of the family. It also allows the professionals to focus all their efforts on settlement considerations rather than on strategies for litigation, as these efforts often run counter to each other.

Once the issues have been identified, addressed and decided, the parties sign a mutually agreeable, honest and equitable separation agreement and go to court to have a divorce decree issued. The result of this process is that the individuals make their own decisions about their futures, rather than leaving those decisions to a stranger (the judge).

What are the advantages of Collaborative Divorce?
First, a caveat: Collaborative Divorce does not work effectively or efficiently in all situations. There are numerous circumstances that would cause a litigated divorce to be the better option for a client. During your initial consultation, we will discuss, and help you to evaluate, which option, litigation or collaboration, will best work for you and your family.

Collaborative Divorce generally offers the following advantages:

1. Reduced Stress
   The Collaborative Process focuses on reducing conflict through better and more respectful communication among the parties. The result is generally an increase in the parties’ ability to attend to the needs of the children in adjusting to a new family structure, to concentrate at work and home and maintain former levels of productivity, to better maintain physical and mental health, and to better maintain relationships with extended family and friends.
   
   
2. More Privacy
   In a litigated divorce the intimate details of a couple's lives and finances is placed in the public record. This means that anyone can access these documents simply by visiting the local clerk of courts. Negotiations in a Collaborative Divorce, however, are totally private and confidential; there is no court record for the public to access. Many of the details of your divorce settlement may even remain confidential through the placement of the settlements into a confidential court file, meaning that no one can gain access to your financial or family information without your permission.
   
   
3. Increased Control Over Outcomes
   As noted, in litigation, the ultimate decisions about your family and finances are made by a stranger (the judge) who has before him or her only some evidence that explains who the litigants are, what they and their children are like, and what the financial makeup of the family is. With this limited information, the judge makes a decision about the most personal aspects of the divorcing couples’ life, how they will survive financially, where and with whom the children will live, and what the couples’ property is worth and who gets it. Collaborative Divorce leaves these questions to be answered by those most knowledgeable about the couples' priorities, goals and needs: the divorcing couple themselves. Collaborative Divorce offers a framework of good-faith negotiating and fact finding to assure that these very difficult decisions are made with full knowledge of all factors.
   
   
4. Reduced Expense
   While not inexpensive, Collaborative Divorce is typically more cost-effective than adversarial representation because its focus is conflict reduction. In a litigated divorce even the smallest dispute can result in pleadings going before the court for determination. This type of practice burns considerable amounts of attorney time, and costs clients money. In a Collaborative Divorce, small disputes are rare as everyone has agreed to work together towards the common goal of a sustainable and fair agreement that takes into account each person’s values, goals and priorities. Large disputes, which usually require going to trial in the litigation setting, are instead decided at a series of meetings. Because the divorcing couple is involved in nearly every aspect of a collaborative divorce, they decide how much they will spend, how often they meet and for how long, and the types of outside professional assistance they will hire.
   
   When divorcing clients reach resolutions that best suit their values, goals, and needs, the resolutions are not just better but also more durable. A durable, workable settlement means that the parties will not have to revisit issues that were (in at least one party’s eyes) wrongly decided by the judge, a situation that is all too common in litigated divorces.

If you are interested in learning more about Collaborative Divorce, please contact Attorney Jacob A. Sonneborn by email, or by calling 276-4331.