Reach out
to one of our collaborative attorneys
or mental health professionals.
The first step in starting a collaborative divorce is to reach out to a collaborative attorney or a neutral mental health professional and set up an initial consultation.
In that meeting, you and the attorney/mental health professional will talk through the details of your situation and see if the collaborative approach is a good fit for you. It’s also a great chance to ask any questions you have—whether they’re about divorce in general or how the collaborative process works.
Share
This Website With Your Spouse.
You should also share this website with your spouse. Since the collaborative process requires both parties to commit to a non-litigated divorce, your spouse will also need to consult with a collaborative attorney.
Gather
Relevant Financial Documents.
Before your consultation, it’s a good idea to start pulling together some basic financial info—things like your income, assets, and any debts you might have. This could include a recent tax return, pay stubs, and statements for things like retirement or investment accounts, mortgages, credit cards, or personal loans.
The more details you can share with your attorney upfront, the better they can tailor their advice to your specific situation. That said, don’t stress if you don’t have everything right away—there will be chances to get the rest later, either from your spouse or other sources, and your attorney can help with that too.
Meet
For The Initial Conference.
Once you and your spouse each choose a collaborative attorney, you’ll both meet separately with your lawyer and a divorce coach to make sure the collaborative process is the right fit.
After that, a joint meeting will be set up where you, your spouse, and both of your attorneys (and sometimes the coaches) come together to talk about your goals and map out a plan that works for your family.
One of the biggest benefits of collaborative divorce is that the process is flexible—it’s built around your unique needs, not the other way around.
Resolve
Issues In A Written Agreement.
The goal of the collaborative process is to work out an agreement on everything. Once that’s done, one of the attorneys will put together a draft of the settlement agreement. After both you and your spouse—and your attorneys—are happy with it, you’ll sign it.
Only then, once everything’s been settled, will one attorney file for divorce. From there, things move pretty quickly, since all the details have already been worked out. The court will be asked to finalize the divorce, and a Judgment of Divorce will be entered.
Contact Us
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