Collaborative Divorce Practice

Collaborative divorce is a good option for separating spouses who wish to keep their family out of court. Collaborative law offers an alternative to the standard "adversarial" litigated divorce but with the added protection and distance not typical in a mediation setting.  In a nutshell you and your spouse both have attorneys advocating for you and guiding you through the process but you contract to keep your case out of the courtroom.

At Law Offices of Russo & Prince, we offer you the opportunity to be personally represented by a skilled and experienced family law attorney without the stress and costs associated with going to court.  We offer collaborative alternatives to litigation in all family law matters - including child custody and parenting disputes.  See our Collaborative Law Practice FAQs page for an extensive break-down of the collaborative practice, or collaborative divorce, process.

Collaborative Divorce is a solutions-oriented approach to marital dissolution that seeks to preserve the long-term interests of families. In Collaborative Practice, couples who have decided to end their marriage work with a team of specially trained professionals to avoid the arbitrary and uncertain outcomes of litigation and achieve a divorce settlement that best meets the specific needs of both parties -- and their children. Within the Collaborative Divorce model, you have an entire interdisciplinary team to assist you in finding a constructive (rather than a destructive) way for spouses and their children to transition into a new phase of their lives.

In addition to decreasing the emotional stress of going through a divorce, using the Collaborative Model also saves money in attorney fees and court costs. Why is this true? because instead of each party paying an expensive lawyer thousands of dollars to use complicated and expensive litigation tactics in court to achieve results, the parties agree that their attorneys will work together to share the information that facilitates settlement of issues informally.  Parties also have access to the coordinated the use of neutral - and much less expensive - non-legal professionals to draft mandatory documents, and identify issues (and potential resolutions to those issues), surrounding their children and finances.

Clients work with their 'Collaborative Team' to carefully tailor the scope of the work to ensure the efficient use of their time and funds. As such, professionals only attend meetings requiring their particular expertise. The specific roles of the professionals on the Collaborative Team are the Family Law Attorney, Divorce Coach, Child Specialist, and Financial Specialist, all of whom maintain a primary focus on the needs of the children and welfare of the family overall while helping parents provide their children with the emotional support and healthy co-parenting they need.

Benefits of Collaborative Divorce:

  • Encourages mutual respect
  • Emphasizes the needs of children
  • Reduces attorney fees and costs
  • Support when you need it most
  • Parties retain control over important decisions
  • Protects privacy - and keeps confidential & sensitive information out of the public court file
  • Provides for open communication
  • Utilizes a team based problem-solving approach
  • Identifies and addresses interests and concerns of all
  • Prepares individuals for their new lives
  • Reduces conflict and animosity between spouses/parents

The Collaborative Divorce Commitment:

  • A pledge not to go to court
  • Reliable attendance at scheduled meetings
  • Diligent participation in the information-gathering process
  • An honest exchange of information
  • A genuine desire to find resolution that will meet the needs and desires of the whole family

A marriage has ended, but why should the ensuing divorce process be so devastating? Collaborative Practice can help you move beyond the pain and feel whole again.  Contact us for more information about whether Collaborative Practice is right for you.