FAQ

What is the Collaborative process?

The Collaborative process movement started in the Minneapolis metropolitan area and spread throughout the rest of the United States, Canada, Australia and Europe. In the Collaborative process attorneys, their clients and neutral professionals work together in non-adversarial ways to resolve the couple's financial and parenting issues.

The couple begins the process by signing what is known as a Participation Agreement indicating their commitment to resolve all differences and issues related to the separation or divorce outside of court. The agreement is a contract that requires full disclosure of all financial information by both partners, transparency, and interest-based negotiation. If the issues cannot be resolved, and the partners choose to take the matter to court, both attorneys are required by the agreement to withdraw from the process.

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Why should I consider the Collaborative process?

You should consider the Collaborative process for many reasons. The following are but a few.

• The Collaborative process is designed to resolve your issues in an atmosphere of respect and dignity, with a goal of reaching an agreement that meets the needs of your entire family.
• Collaborative professionals recognize that the experience of ending a marriage or relationship is always difficult, and the legal considerations are just a small piece of all the changes your family is experiencing.
• The Collaborative process provides a way to decrease conflict, promote communication, and resolve issues in a way the meets each of your goals.
• The Collaborative process ensures that you and your partner have accurate information, sound legal advice, solid support in problem-solving and decision-making, and assistance in laying the groundwork for respectful working relationships after the process is over.

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When should I talk with a Collaborative professional?

You should talk with a Collaborative professional if you are thinking about divorce and/or separation so that you can learn about all of the options that may be available to you.

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How do I contact a Collaborative professional?

Follow this link to learn how to contact a Collaborative professional. You can start with talking to an attorney, neutral facilitator / coach, mediator, or financial neutral. All are able to talk with you about how the Collaborative process works and what your next steps could be.

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What questions should I ask when hiring a Collaborative professional?

We have compiled a list of Questions to Ask a Collaborative professional when you interview them.

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How do I choose a Collaborative Professional?

We have compiled a list of things to think about for How to Choose a Collaborative Professional.

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What is the cost of the Collaborative process?

Each Collaborative professional has his or her own fee schedule, and that is a question to discuss as you interview the professionals for your Collaborative Team.

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Do the professionals in the Collaborative Law Institute ever participate in pro bono (free) cases?

Yes. If you think that you may qualify financially to be a candidate for a pro bono case, please see our Pro Bono page. 

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How is the Collaborative divorce different from the traditional divorce?

Collaborative divorce allows you and your partner, with the help of your Collaborative Team, come to agreements about your finances and parenting, without turning over the power of that decision-making process to your attorneys or the court.

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Do we ever go to court?

No.

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What if my spouse/partner has already filed papers with the court – can we still choose the Collaborative Process?

Yes. Attorneys for the couple can ask the court to have the case placed on inactive status while the Collaborative process continues.

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How do you get the financial information you need to proceed?

You and your partner commit in the Participation Agreement  to voluntarily and completely disclose financial information and to provide supporting documentation such as tax returns, mortgage statements, pay stubs, credit card statements, et cetera.

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What happens if one side or the other is dishonest in some way, or misuses the process to take advantage of the other party?

Dishonesty violates the Participation Agreement. If a partner is intentionally withholding relevant information or misusing the process, the Collaborative process terminates.

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What is Collaborative Team Practice? (review based on info from TEAM)

Collaborative Team Practice is a multi-disciplinary approach to helping families make decisions related to separation or divorce. A multi-disciplinary approach has been used for some time in medicine and other professions, but is just now gaining popularity in the legal profession.

In Collaborative Team Practice, the couple has access to a team of professionals, each specializing in a different field of expertise. The collaborative team model uses neutral experts including licensed mental health professionals as coaches for the spouses/partners, child specialists to give the children a voice in the process, and a financial expert to help advise the couple on the impact of their financial decisions. All the professionals involved – the attorneys, the mental health professionals, and the financial planners, have special training to help them take a holistic view of the family’s needs.

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What is a Participation Agreement?

This is a contract used in all Collaborative cases which provides for four basic principles:

• Full disclosure of all information necessary to make informed decisions;
• Confidentiality, so that all participants may speak to their needs without the fear of having their words used against them in future in a court setting;
• The use of neutral experts; and
• The professionals promise that they will not participate in litigating against either partner in future

Couples do not waive any rights, and are free to leave the process and start contested court proceedings if they feel they need to do so; however, the contract says that all the professionals but the neutral financial specialists under limited conditions cannot be retained in any future court proceedings.

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What is a Parenting Plan?

A Parenting Plan is a worksheet designed by professionals members of the Collaborative Law Institute. It is used to assist couples working with Collaborative Team professionals to develop a parenting plan which meets the needs of their children and satisfies the requirements of the law.

With the use of a Parenting Plan, you remain “parents” rather than “custodians” of your children. You work out “parenting time” rather than “custody” and “visitation,” all labels that we believe point to an important change in thinking around a post-divorce, co-parenting relationship.

The essential elements of a Parenting Plan include, but are not limited to the following:

• A schedule of time each parent spends with the child(ren);
• A designation of decision-making responsibilities regarding the child(ren); and
• A method of future dispute resolution.

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What is a Relationship Plan?

A relationship plan helps you define the nature and terms of your co-parenting relationship as you move from spouse to co-parents by addressing the changes you will face in both the short and long-term as they relate to defining new expectations and boundaries and helping you problem solve for future conflict. A couple develops this plan with their neutral coach as they go through the Collaborative process.

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What is mediation?

Mediation is a process in which you and your partner work with a mediator to identify the issues, gather information, generate options, and reach an agreement. The mediator is neural, and does not advocate for either of you.  He or she has no decision-making role and cannot give advice.

You can consult with your attorney before or after your mediation sessions, and in some cases, can have him or her present with you during the sessions. In order to complete the separation or divorce, legal documents must still be filed with the courts. Mediators do not prepare these legal documents.

Mediation can be part of the Collaborative process.

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What type of training do Collaborative practitioners have?

In addition to the training that is required in his or her particular field, each Collaborative practitioner is required to complete ongoing continuing education requirements specific to the Collaborative Process. CLI member professionals list their training on their individual profile pages.

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