The Collaborative Process in Divorce and Family Law Cases
The most common kind of case in which the collaborative process has been used to date is unquestionably divorce and family law disputes. If you are presented with a divorce or other family law matter which requires resolution, the beginning point in evaluating whether collaborative family law is right for you is to understand the major models of dispute resolution which are available.
There are a number of procedural models which can be used to resolve a divorce or family law matter. The most commonly identified procedural options would include pro se, mediation, collaborative family law, and traditional negotiation / litigation. These options can be seen as points along a continuum, which might be depicted as follows:
These models vary in a number of ways, including the degree of professional assistance involved, the extent of court intervention, and the amount of associated financial cost, with each increasing (generally speaking) as you move farther to the right on the continuum.
None of these options is right for everyone, and the starting point in determining which of them is right for you is to develop an understanding of each model and its associated advantages and disadvantages. Each of these models will be discussed in greater detail on their respective pages.
