Civil Divorce the Collaborative Way
Posted By Irene C. Olszewski, Esq. on February 16, 2011
Collaborative Divorce is not a new model. Actually, it’s been successfully practiced by attorneys since 1990. Most people are only familiar with the traditional litigation model for divorce, where the divorcing couple and their lawyers duke in out in court. It’s can be a whole lot like a dog fight. Not always pretty.
The collaborative Divorce model aims to take the nastiness out of divorce and create a civil environment for the couple and the other professionals to work in so that meaningful resolutions can be brainstormed.
According to Alice Blackwell, the administrative judge for the Orange-Osceola, Fla., circuit’s family division:
“What makes judges so sad is we see people fighting desperately, but if they would refocus on what’s best for the family, they could find common ground. They’ll spend all their assets on the divorce, and all they know how to do at the end is fight,” she said. “I wish we could change the law so people had to consider collaborative law first, before they came to court to fight.”
I echoed Judge Blackwell’s sentiments in an earlier post on this same issue.
The Collaborative Divorce model is spreading. Some are calling it the ‘wave of the future’ — and I dearly hope it is.
For another perspective on the Collaborative Divorce model, I invite you to read Mark Schlueb’s excellent post in The Orlando Sentinel:
If you must get divorced, do it the collaborative way.
————————————
Disclaimer: The information, comments and links posted on the blog do not constitute legal advice. I will not respond to any specific legal questions in the comments section of this blog. Read my entire disclaimer.
copyright 2011 Irene C. Olszewski
Comments
Leave a Reply
Please note: Comment moderation is currently enabled so there will be a delay between when you post your comment and when it shows up. Patience is a virtue; there is no need to re-submit your comment.