Collaborative family law

Going through a relationship breakdown can be emotional and difficult. We want to make the divorce process as painless as it can be. Our collaborative divorce lawyers will work with you and your former partner to find solutions that will benefit your whole family.

If you are considering a separation or divorce but are worried about the impact the process could have on your children, the financial costs that could be incurred, or the possibility of a court making fundamental decisions about your family’s future over which you have no control, we can help.

What is the collaborative law process?

Collaborative law is an alternative to resolving family disputes through the courts.

The collaborative law process begins with you both signing an agreement, known as a ‘participation agreement’. This is a contract, committing the both of you to working together to reach a mutually beneficial outcome. By signing this agreement, you are agreeing that you will not go to court during this process to resolve your issues.

You will have a series of ‘four-way’ face to face meetings. Both of you will have a collaboratively trained lawyer at these discussions. Other professionals, such as accountants, counsellors, coaches and financial advisers, can also be involved.

The collaborative process works by resolving any financial settlement and child arrangement issues. Once you have reached an agreement, that can then be made into a court order or separation agreement.

If this process were to break down and either of you decided to go to court, you would both have to instruct new lawyers. This helps ensure everyone involved in the collaborative law process is working together to reach an acceptable agreement.

What are the benefits of collaborative law?

There are many benefits of using the collaborative law process:

• It helps separating couples (whether married or not) to communicate better and reach an agreement in a mutually acceptable way
• It allows you to resolve disputes in a non-confrontational way, without acrimony -  you will be safe in the knowledge that you have behaved with dignity and respect
• It can avoid the need for expensive, distressing and protracted legal proceedings
• It ensures minimum disruption to your children’s lives
• The collaborative process eases the pain of family breakdown

How we can help you

We have specialist collaborative family lawyers who offer collaborative divorce as an alternative to litigation. We can provide you with expert legal advice and are committed to helping you and your partner resolve issues by agreement.

Our experience

Our team of collaborative lawyers are all members of Resolution. This is a group that promotes a non-confrontational approach to resolving family disputes.