Collaborative family law is a method of resolving family law issues, such as divorce or separation, without resorting to court proceedings. It's a client-centred approach that empowers you to resolve your problems constructively.
It involves a series of meetings where the couple, along with their collaboratively trained lawyers, work together to agree on how their separation will be handled, including splitting any property, finances, debts, and childcare arrangements.
Collaborative approaches aim to give you control by using a less confrontational and more flexible structure than a traditional courtroom setting. This is achieved by an open and transparent process where you are both encouraged to avoid coming with fixed ideas about what to expect.
At the start of the process, the solicitors, you and your former partner sign an agreement committing you to doing your best to make the collaborative approach work. You will also be asked to outline what issues and elements are most and least important to you and your partner will be asked the same. We'll then work together to come up with as many solutions as possible, which aim to meet as many of those interests for both of you that we can with the resources available.
When you reach the end of the collaborative process, your solicitors will draft the legal documents for you and your ex partner to sign, making them legally binding for both parties. Should either of you break the agreement, you can enforce this through the courts. It means that even though you have been through a collaborative separation process you are still legally protected. However, if you and your ex can't agree, then your collaborative solicitor is not able to represent you in court at a later date.