Collaborative Family Law in Florida 

Collaborative law is a unique process used to resolve disputes in which both clients retain separate lawyers whose only job is to help the clients settle their disputes. The process involves open communication between the clients and their respective lawyers. All participants agree to work together in a collaborative manner. They agree to be respectful and honest and to participate in good faith to try to reach an agreement which meets both clients' interests.

This process is not through the normal courtroom process. The collaborative process primarily entails informal discussions and joint meetings for the purpose of settling the issues. The clients, and their lawyers, commit to resolving differences justly and equitably without resorting to court proceedings. The process utilizes informal discovery, such as the voluntary exchange of documents and, in some cases, the engagement of neutral experts (normally mental health and/or financial). Each client's questions and concerns are respected and addressed in a reasonable and dignified atmosphere.

Collaborative law uses problem-solving negotiations that do not include adversarial techniques or tactics. Most collaborative lawyers are specially trained in this process. Although the lawyer still advocates for the client, there is no posturing, no threatening, and no deception utilized to reach a satisfactory conclusion for the client.

Clients Responsible for Outcome

Clients work with their lawyers to understand the legal consequences, both for themselves and the other party. The collaborative process is designed to achieve each client's best possible outcome under the circumstances, an outcome acceptable to them both. The collaborative law model encourages understanding of the other client's interests and concerns. It provides the opportunity to craft more creative property and parental responsibility and parenting time arrangements than the adversarial process allows. The clients resolve disputes in a manner that will keep them out of the court system and minimizes the possibility of future conflicts. When clients are committed to settlement and litigation is not an option, creativity and flexibility in problem-solving becomes the norm.

The participants may elect to use the collaborative team model, which involves engaging a mental health professional and/or a financial professional at the start of the case, both of whom are neutral. The lawyers, mental health professional and the financial professional comprise the collaborative team, and the team's goal is to assist the clients with achieving a maximized outcome under the parties' circumstances. The possibilities that exist in the collaborative framework are limited only by the imaginations of the clients and their commitment to settlement.


Collaborative Law Conducted in Private

One of the most attractive aspects of collaborative law for many clients is the fact that it is conducted in private, with the exception of the entry of the final judgment of the divorce. In the privacy of the process the clients can discuss sensitive issues that they might prefer not to air in the public arena of the courtroom.

Another appealing aspect of collaborative law is its flexibility in scheduling. In litigation, the scheduling of hearings and depositions frequently is done with no consideration for the parties' schedules. In collaborative law, the clients and their lawyers schedule everything themselves and thus avoid inconveniencing each other. Also, the disposal of the case is not pursuant to the court's docket and their inherent delays. The collaborative law process gives clients the ability to move as quickly as the clients feel makes sense in their case, giving them time to emotionally deal with the divorce, experiment with different parenting time schedules, sell a home, or do whatever else needs to be done before they finalize their divorce.

Cost vs. Damage

Is the cost of the collaborative law process more or less expensive than litigation? There are two ways to look at "cost". If the client is concerned about costs such as a damaged relationship with the other party, trauma to the children, loss of privacy, etc., the collaborative process is definitely less expensive than litigation. If the concern is the amount of professional fees, collaborative law probably is less expensive than litigation, although collaborative law is not bargain-basement law. In fact, collaborative law has proven to be a value-add process, especially when the clients use the team model.

Collaborative law works for the majority of clients; however, it may not be right for everyone. It certainly should be considered if some of these statements are true:

  • The client wants a civilized and dignified resolution of the dispute.
  • The client would like to retain the possibility of a workable relationship with the other party. This is especially helpful when children are a part of their family.
  • The client wants the best co-parenting relationship.
  • The client wants to minimize or eliminate the damage of hostility and conflict of litigation often causes to the children.
  • The client and other party have friends and extended family with whom they both wish to remain connected.
  • The client recognizes the limited ranges of outcomes that can occur in the litigation system.
  • The client values honesty and integrity, dignity, privacy and discretion.
  • The client wants substantially more control over the process rather than leaving the outcome in the hands of a Judge.
  • The client understands that resolving conflicts with dignity involves meeting not only the client's goals but finding ways to meet the reasonable goals of the other party.

Contact a Collaborative Lawyer in Orlando

If you determine that you are interested in the collaborative law process Mark S. Troum, Esquire is formally trained in this process and can help you through this proceeding with the dignity and privacy your case is entitled to. Contact a collaborative law attorney in Orlando today.