Collaborative Divorce
In recent years, more and more attorneys have begun to use the collaborative law process to help couples end their marriages in a mutually respectful and beneficial way. At A Fresh Start Mediation, attorney Sue Brown uses both the collaborative process and mediation to help clients develop workable solutions that enable them to make a successful transition to life after divorce. She works to protect families from the emotional destruction and expense associated with divorce litigation.
If you would like to learn more about the use of collaborative law to achieve a divorce agreement, contact Sue's firm. She can explain the collaborative divorce process and help you decide if it is right for you.
What is Collaborative Divorce?
The collaborative divorce process uses many of the same techniques and offers many of the same benefits as divorce mediation:
- Non-adversarial approach reduces the emotional and financial cost of divorce
- Helps develop a positive co-parenting relationship between parties and provide stability and an easier transition for children
- Gives the parties greater control over the process and their futures
- Allows for creative, "outside the box" solutions to family and financial issues
- Provides a framework for improved communication skills to take into the future
It is different from mediation in that both parties are individually represented by lawyers who meet with them in four-way conferences. This can provide additional benefits to each party:
- Independent legal counsel from a knowledgeable family law attorney
- The conflict resolution skills of two specially-trained attorneys focused on achieving a mutually agreeable solution through collaboration
- Working as a team to generate creative options for meeting the needs and interests of the parties and their families
- Opportunity to communicate directly with each other in a respectful and realistic way about individual concerns
All issues of child custody and visitation, child support, property division, and spousal support can be addressed in the collaborative process. Other family law problems arising after divorce, such as modifications in custody, parenting time or child support can also be resolved using this process.
More information about the use of the collaborative process in divorce can be found at the Collaborative Law Information Center.
Contact an Attorney
For a consultation, call 888-855-8063 toll free or send an e-mail to A Fresh Start Mediation.
Located in Chapel Hill, the firm serves clients in The Triangle and elsewhere in North Carolina.
