The Collaborative Team
The Collaborative Team
In the Collaborative law process, a team of trained Collaborative professionals supports you in addressing your concerns and assists you in making sound decisions. Their training in Collaborative practice enables them to work together and offer the advice you need to achieve a fair separation. The Collaborative team often consists of a financial specialist, family professional and collaborative lawyers.
The Lawyers
Collaborative lawyers are licensed and regulated members of the legal profession. They are your advocates and will work with you and your spouse to negotiate a resolution of your family related issues including custody and access, child and spousal support and division of family property.
Collaborative lawyers will provide guidance and support as problem-solvers and focus on the interests of the participants. At the conclusion of the process, the lawyers will jointly draft a Separation Agreement with all of the agreed upon terms.
Choosing a lawyer is a matter of personal preference. In deciding who will represent you, consider factors such as experience, personality, and special expertise.
Family Professionals
Collaborative family professionals are counselors, social workers, psychologists or mediators who have specialized skills in handling the emotional aspects of the issues pertaining to separation and divorce. They further discuss parenting, and help ensure that feelings, needs, and concerns of both clients are understood and respected where children are concerned.
Through the process, child specialists focus on communication, cooperation, disclosure, honesty and the best interests of the child.
Financial Specialists
Financial Specialists may be accountants, financial planners, and business valuators who have expertise in helping separating families address issues relating to the family finances during a divorce. They play a vital role in the collaborative process by ensuring that clients provide full and frank financial disclosure. Financial disclosure includes aspects such as income, assets and liabilities of both the spouses.
In the collaborative process, you and your spouse can work with a financial professional to help you understand the intricacies of your financial situation.