What Is Collaborative Law?

Traditional divorce can be time-consuming, expensive, and stressful for all parties involved. Fortunately, there are other options such as Collaborative law.

Collaborative law, or Collaborative divorce, is a form of limited representation and interest-based negotiation, providing an alternative to traditional divorce methods. It is a non-adversarial process that does not involve courtroom litigation, which means the divorcing parties make major decisions together with their attorneys instead of having their future decided by a judge.

Collaborative Law is traditionally used in the context of a dissolution of marriage, but can be used after a divorce has been filed as long as the parties and Court agree.

How Does Collaborative Law Work?

Collaborative divorces in Ohio are governed by the Ohio Collaborative Family Law Act, which was signed into law in 2012. The Act specifies how Collaborative divorces should be performed and created certification requirements for attorneys practicing Collaborative law.

Unlike a traditional divorce, neither spouse is required to file for divorce in order to dissolve their marriage. Instead, both spouses work together to reach an agreement on all of the issues related to the dissolution of a marriage, including property division, child support, child custody, and spousal support.

Collaborative law is a non-adversarial process in which divorcing parties make major decisions together without court intervention.

From the outset of a Collaborative divorce, each spouse enters into a Collaborative Agreement. This agreement is a legally binding contract that obligates each party to a divorce to engage in the Collaborative process.

Parties in the Collaborative Law process both have attorneys and often will also utilize the services of neutral third parties on their team, such as a Family Relations Specialist or a Financial Specialist.

What Are The Benefits Of Collaborative Law?

Spouses may choose to engage in the Collaborative divorce process for several reasons. First, Collaborative divorce is typically less expensive than a traditional divorce. Second, spouses commit to working Collaboratively during the divorce process, laying the groundwork for a productive and amicable post-divorce relationship. Lastly, spouses are able to make decisions together about important issues affecting their children, property, and finances without court intervention.

One important thing to note about Collaborative divorce is that each spouse must agree to every aspect of the agreement. If they fail to do so, then they will need to start over and begin the traditional divorce process with different legal representation.

Is Collaborative Law Right For You?

Our team at Wagner & Bloch will assess the unique facts of your situation to help you choose whether a Collaborative strategy is the right option to help you achieve the best outcome for yourself and your family.

Although the Collaborative model is not appropriate in every case, it can be a very effective method of reaching cooperative agreements between parties who want to preserve their co-parenting relationship, retain power over the final agreement, and avoid costly litigation.

Schedule A Consultation

If given the choice, how would you want your divorce to be handled? Would you want it to be time spent fighting or time spent working toward accomplishing a resolution with an equitable outcome for you and your family?

At Wagner & Bloch, our Cincinnati divorce lawyers take a sophisticated approach to solving difficult cases. We know family law and we know how to help. Contact us today to schedule a consultation to discuss your specific case options. Send us a message via our contact form or call us today!