Divorce without the Battle

Trevor Hood, Principal

Everyone has heard the horror stories – the monumental battles that occur in the course of a divorce and the destruction that can result from those battles. The resulting devastation can be significant and includes the emotional rollercoaster for the two spouses and their families, the damage to a family-owned business as a consequence of the distractions of the divorce, and, most importantly, the negative impact on any children of the marriage. Given these issues, there is a growing trend towards utilizing what is known as Collaborative Family Law to resolve the separation and divorce.

The concept of Collaborative Family Law was first created in 1990 by a Minnesota lawyer by the name of Stu Webb who became disenchanted with his family law litigation practice and thus made the decision that he would no longer take a client’s case to court. Instead, Mr. Webb’s role would be limited to working with clients to the settlement stage and, in the event that the case did not settle, they would have to hire a new lawyer to take their case to court. With this decision, not only did clients continue to retain him, other local lawyers committed to the same process and the Collaborative Family Law process was born. Over the last eighteen years, this process has continued to grow across the United States and this growth has expanded into Canada as well.

The backbone of the Collaborative Family Law model is that the parties are forced to hire a new lawyer if their case goes to court. This concept is enforced by the fact that both the clients and the lawyers all sign an agreement to work together to settle the matter and to work in an atmosphere that is respectful and where full disclosure is made. If there is any sense of misrepresentation or the parties are unable to resolve the matter then the parties must turn to the court system and both of the lawyers are prevented from representing their clients any further. This provides all parties with incentive to co-operate throughout the process and eliminates tactics such as threats of court that are common in Family Law litigation.

Other key characteristics of the Collaborative Family Law model include:

The use of four-way meetings where both the parties and the lawyers meet to prioritize issues, identify the needs and desires of each party and develop a resolution to each of the issues.
Prior to each of the four-way meetings, the parties each meet individually with their lawyers to establish an agenda for the meeting and identify any key issues from their perspective.
Where experts such as business valuators, financial planners and child specialists are required, these professionals are hired jointly by the parties and the expert then works within the Collaborative Family Law process.
The issues do not necessarily need to be based on the framework set out in the specific Family Law statutes thus providing a higher level of flexibility for the parties.

The benefits of the Collaborative Law process can be significant and include the following:

The result of the Collaborative Family Law process is a settlement in which both parties have some level of ownership and that appropriately deals with the key issues for each side.
The emotional damage that can result from a litigation-based approach is mitigated by the nature of the process thus benefiting the parties to the matter and any children and other family as well.
The process provides for a positive manner in which the parties can move to the next stage of their lives. Not only is this important for the two parties but again is crucial where children are involved.
Given that the parties are working together, there is a higher level of transparency in the Collaborative Family Law process.
The financial strains on both a business and one’s personal finances can benefit from the Collaborative Family Law process given the fact that the level of legal fees are more controlled and will not spiral out of control as is common during the heat of litigation.
Other professional fees are typically reduced given that only one expert is required in each of the different specialty areas (i.e. Chartered Business Valuator, Child Specialist, etc.).

If you have any questions on the Collaborative Family Law process please feel free to contact Trevor Hood, CA, CBV at thood@sbpartners.ca. Trevor is well versed in the area of Collaborative Family Law and has been involved in business valuation in Collaborative Family Law matters. Alternatively, information is also available on the websites of a variety of local Collaborative Family Law Groups including the Hamilton/Halton Collaborative Family Law Group at www.collabfamlaw.com and the Peel/Halton Collaborative Family Law Group at www.collaborative-family-law.com.

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