Simple Divorce Advice

By Bev Clark

OPTIONS

In the breakdown of any relationship various decisions and choices are involved. Which professionals you have involved in your matter, how you utilise them, and the nature of their approach, are all matters that can significantly affect whether your dissolution proceeds smoothly or not.

Some couples resolve all of their issues without any professional assistance at all. Some process their own paperwork through the Courts. At the other end of the spectrum, some couples engage in drawn out Courtroom battles that are costly in terms of emotional stress, financial resources and time. Most couples find that their needs fall somewhere between these two extremes.

COLLABORATIVE LAW

In a collaborative approach each person retains their own collaborative lawyer to advise and assist in negotiating an agreement on all issues. All negotiations take place in “four-way” settlement meetings that both parties and their lawyers attend. The lawyers cannot go to Court or threaten to go to Court. Settlement is the only agenda and as such all efforts are directed toward that goal. If either client goes to Court, both Collaborative Lawyers are disqualified from further participation.

Each client has the advantage of legal advice and guidance during negotiations.

Each lawyer directs their efforts toward advice and guidance most likely to lead to a reasonable resolution. Legal advice is an integral part of the process, but all of the decisions are made by the clients. The lawyers generally prepare and process any paperwork to record and formalise agreements reached.

COMPARISON WITH CONVENTIONAL REPRESENTATION

In a conventional adversarial process each party hires a lawyer. Both lawyers may be committed to working toward a settlement of the case however to some extent they may also be preparing for the possibility of a Trial in the event that settlement fails. If the lawyers are not particularly good at, or interest in settling the case then the majority of their efforts will be directed towards preparing for a Trial so a settlement may still result at or near the time of Trial.

In conventional representation you have no control over the lawyer that the other party engage. Some lawyers are more aggressive in their approach. Some lawyers are more conciliatory. In a collaborative approach, the lawyer chosen by the other party must be a lawyer trained in collaborative law and must enter into the appropriate collaborative agreement to deal with the matter in that way. They are therefore precluded from directing any of their energy toward preparing for a Trial. This model therefore does not attract lawyers who are highly litigious.

Cases that are prepared in a conventional way and/or proceed through the Court process usually involve higher fees and, due to significant delays in the Court process, take longer to complete than collaborative or mediated cases. The risk of high conflict in an adversarial approach is significant. This can also translate into ongoing conflict after the case has been concluded.

An adversarial process can also be destructive for children involved in the case and can affect the parties ability to have a respectful relationship after the proceedings are completed.

MORE INFORMATION

For more information contact Bev Clark or Charlie Belperio at Belperio Clark 389 King William Street Adelaide SA 5000, telephone 08 8212 1322 or visit our website www.bc-lawyers.com.au and follow the link to Collaborative Practice.

View original post: Information On The Collaborative Divorce Process

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