Experienced Family Lawyers in Kitchener

If you would like to get a divorce but avoid the lengthy and costly court process, consider collaborative law. Our family lawyers recommend the collaborative law approach as a great alternative that helps minimize the emotional burden and time required to arrive at a mutually agreeable decision.

Collaborative law results in a legally binding contract that both parties agree to. This process is designed to minimize conflict and to be non-adversarial, which simply means that the ex-partners have agreed to work together in good faith with the help of highly experienced collaborative lawyers and third-party specialists.

First things first, both parties will be required to form a collaborative team. This team will oversee the divorce/separation journey until a mutually agreeable decision is reached. Each party will be responsible for hiring a collaborative lawyer who is professionally trained and certified in leading this process. Both parties will then come together and hire a family professional who is often a social worker paid a joint retainer. The family professional  is san integral part of the process, especially in divorces where children are involved. He/she will meet the children and make the interview process as friendly as possible.  The parties will also work with a financial professional who will help the couple collect their financial facts which is required before negotiations can begin.

Parties who agree on the collaborative law approach must sign a contract that stipulates their commitment to negotiate in good faith and avoid the trial process. At the initial meeting, the collaborative lawyers and professional neutrals will meet without the spouses present to agree on the way forward. They will also set a date for the mandatory meeting where the entire collaborative team, including the spouses, will be present. 

During the mandatory meeting, all parties that are present will engage in negotiations, and a list of issues will be discussed. There are several approaches to make these collaborative meetings more productive such as tackling the simpler issues at the beginning and then moving on to the more complex ones at the end. 

Once the entire team meets, the collaborative lawyers and professionals  will meet again without the spouses to debrief and set an agenda for the next meeting. The sessions will continue until an agreement is reached and all issues are addressed. Once all matters are acceptably resolved, and the two parties agree, both lawyers will meet again to start working on the legally binding document for review. The process will only be considered complete after the document is signed. The main advantages of the collaborative law process are that it can be less time-consuming, less costly and eliminates the need for public disclosure on your private divorce and separation matters, as is the case with court proceedings.