The Collaborative Process: Defined
Ending your marriage with no litigation and a path forward
Let’s collaborate
The Collaborative Process helps you end your marriage with no litigation and a path forward. You can start by contacting any Collaborative Professional based on what you feel you need. If your immediate concerns involve finances, you might choose to contact a Financial Specialist. Or, if you’re struggling with emotions, conflict, or parenting issues, you might choose to contact a Family Relations Specialist.
Your Collaborative Dissolution involves four fundamental principles:
No Court
Both spouses and their attorneys commit that they will not take the dispute to court. This allows everyone to focus on problem solving and reaching agreements rather than litigation.
Client Centered
Inter-Disciplinary
Transparency
The Collaborative Process: The Why
Reasons why the Collaborative Process is the way forward
You can focus on settlement
You negotiate a better settlement
You lay the groundwork for a better future
The Collaborative Process: The Road Map
What will the path forward look like
Contact a Member of the CACP
Both spouses in the Collaborative Process need to engage an attorney. A CACP member can learn more about your situation and answer your specific questions.
Signing the Participation Agreement
…formally begins the Collaborative Process. You can find a copy of the Collaborative Participation Agreement here. This is a legal document outlining the agreed-upon commitments all parties will follow. A CACP member can answer any questions you may have about the content of the Participation Agreement.
Information gathering
…is an important first step of the Collaborative Process. The professionals work with you to gather and organize all of the information and documentation you will need, including documentation about income, assets, debts, and any child-related issues. The Collaborative Process requires full transparency and a complete disclosure of all relevant information.
Team meetings
…are held with you, your spouse, and the other professionals. At these team meetings, we review your goals and interests, then work to create options for resolution of all financial and child-related issues. Team meetings are the cornerstone of the Collaborative Process where you, your spouse, and your Collaborative professionals work toward a final agreement at the same table.
Agreements
…are then formalized into legal documents to be submitted to your local court. Since you took an active role in shaping your agreement, there are no surprises and no questions left unanswered.
Choose Your Path
Getting started on the path forward
You can start by contacting any Collaborative Professional based on what you feel you need. If your immediate concerns involve finances, you might choose to contact a Financial Specialist. Or, if you’re struggling with emotions, conflict, or parenting issues, you might choose to contact a Family Relations Specialist.
It’s up to you. Let’s collaborate.
The Attorney members of our Collaborative Practice Group are attorneys who have completed special training in Collaborative Law. These Attorneys will give you legal advice, just as any traditional attorney does. The Collaborative Process empowers you and your spouse to discuss and reach agreements about the issues that are important to you. You and your spouse, rather than a court, make these important decisions. Your Attorneys will help to guide these discussions at group meetings where both spouses and their Attorneys sit at the same table. You and your spouse will each have a separate Attorney in the Collaborative Process. Your Attorney will work together with your spouse’s Attorney to find solutions that work for both you and your spouse. Even though the threat of litigation is off the table, your Attorney is still working for you and serving as your legal counsel. Your Attorney will guide you as you and your spouse address the legal issues related to ending your marriage.
This includes:
- Making decisions about your children
- Sharing time with your children
- Financial support, including spousal and child support
- Dividing your assets
- Dividing your debts
Once you and your spouse have reached agreement on all issues, the Attorneys will prepare the legal paperwork to submit to the court in a non-adversarial filing. You and your Attorney will sign a Collaborative Participation Agreement. As part of this Agreement, you and your Attorney commit to staying out of court. If you decide to go to court, you will have to hire a new attorney.
When you choose the Collaborative Process, you have the opportunity to work with a Collaborative Family Relations Specialist (FRS). Family Relations Specialists are psychologists, social workers and counselors – all licensed in their respective fields – who have expertise in family dynamics, child development, and couples’ communication. FRS’s have specialized training in Collaborative Law and actively participate in the Cincinnati Academy of Collaborative Professionals, where they engage in ongoing training and case conferences to further their knowledge in this area. A FRS works with you and your spouse to identify and prioritize concerns and interests, and then helps to facilitate dialogue and promote compromise. A FRS enhances communication among the team members and reduces misunderstandings to help the process move toward resolution. If you have children or teenagers, a FRS will provide information and guidance to you and your spouse as you create a shared parenting plan and develop co-parenting skills, personalized to the needs of each family. A FRS acts as a facilitator, not as a therapist, in the Collaborative Process. A FRS serves as a neutral professional in the process.
It is no secret that one of the main stressors in ending a marriage is related to finances. In the Collaborative Process, you and your spouse can use a Financial Specialist. A Financial Specialist works to educate you and your spouse about the financial implications of ending your marriage. A Financial Specialist is a neutral participant and does not advocate for your or your spouse. Many times, the Financial Specialist works with you and your spouse to gather all necessary financial information and documentation. Because the free flow of information is crucial to the Collaborative Process, you and your spouse will work with the Financial Specialist to ensure that complete and accurate financial information has been provided. With this financial information, the Financial Specialist can then work with you and your spouse to create a spreadsheet of the marital assets and debts. It is not unusual that one spouse may be less familiar with the marital finances. The Financial Specialist can work with you and your spouse to explain the financial picture, including income, assets, and debts. As part of the Collaborative Process, the Financial Specialist will work with you and your spouse to discuss options that work to meet your and your spouse’s financial goals. The might include working with you or your spouse to create a budget and compare that budget to your cash flow. Or, this might include plans to save for children’s college educations or to save for retirement. The Financial Specialist’s goal is to provide financial expertise while you and your spouse are making decisions about your financial futures. These topics might include:
- Analyzing and understanding your and your spouse’s income
- Understanding how taxes impact your financial picture
- Assisting with the division of retirement accounts
- Performing calculations related to spousal and child support
- Developing property division scenarios
The Attorney members of our Collaborative Practice Group are attorneys who have completed special training in Collaborative Law. These Attorneys will give you legal advice, just as any traditional attorney does. The Collaborative Process empowers you and your spouse to discuss and reach agreements about the issues that are important to you. You and your spouse, rather than a court, make these important decisions. Your Attorneys will help to guide these discussions at group meetings where both spouses and their Attorneys sit at the same table. You and your spouse will each have a separate Attorney in the Collaborative Process. Your Attorney will work together with your spouse’s Attorney to find solutions that work for both you and your spouse. Even though the threat of litigation is off the table, your Attorney is still working for you and serving as your legal counsel. Your Attorney will guide you as you and your spouse address the legal issues related to ending your marriage.
This includes:
- Making decisions about your children
- Sharing time with your children
- Financial support, including spousal and child support
- Dividing your assets
- Dividing your debts
Once you and your spouse have reached agreement on all issues, the Attorneys will prepare the legal paperwork to submit to the court in a non-adversarial filing. You and your Attorney will sign a Collaborative Participation Agreement. As part of this Agreement, you and your Attorney commit to staying out of court. If you decide to go to court, you will have to hire a new attorney.
When you choose the Collaborative Process, you have the opportunity to work with a Collaborative Family Relations Specialist (FRS). Family Relations Specialists are psychologists, social workers and counselors – all licensed in their respective fields – who have expertise in family dynamics, child development, and couples’ communication. FRS’s have specialized training in Collaborative Law and actively participate in the Cincinnati Academy of Collaborative Professionals, where they engage in ongoing training and case conferences to further their knowledge in this area. A FRS works with you and your spouse to identify and prioritize concerns and interests, and then helps to facilitate dialogue and promote compromise. A FRS enhances communication among the team members and reduces misunderstandings to help the process move toward resolution. If you have children or teenagers, a FRS will provide information and guidance to you and your spouse as you create a shared parenting plan and develop co-parenting skills, personalized to the needs of each family. A FRS acts as a facilitator, not as a therapist, in the Collaborative Process. A FRS serves as a neutral professional in the process.
It is no secret that one of the main stressors in ending a marriage is related to finances. In the Collaborative Process, you and your spouse can use a Financial Specialist. A Financial Specialist works to educate you and your spouse about the financial implications of ending your marriage. A Financial Specialist is a neutral participant and does not advocate for your or your spouse. Many times, the Financial Specialist works with you and your spouse to gather all necessary financial information and documentation. Because the free flow of information is crucial to the Collaborative Process, you and your spouse will work with the Financial Specialist to ensure that complete and accurate financial information has been provided. With this financial information, the Financial Specialist can then work with you and your spouse to create a spreadsheet of the marital assets and debts. It is not unusual that one spouse may be less familiar with the marital finances. The Financial Specialist can work with you and your spouse to explain the financial picture, including income, assets, and debts. As part of the Collaborative Process, the Financial Specialist will work with you and your spouse to discuss options that work to meet your and your spouse’s financial goals. The might include working with you or your spouse to create a budget and compare that budget to your cash flow. Or, this might include plans to save for children’s college educations or to save for retirement. The Financial Specialist’s goal is to provide financial expertise while you and your spouse are making decisions about your financial futures. These topics might include:
- Analyzing and understanding your and your spouse’s income
- Understanding how taxes impact your financial picture
- Assisting with the division of retirement accounts
- Performing calculations related to spousal and child support
- Developing property division scenarios
