In a traditional dissolution of marriage model, married couples rely on the judicial system and often a judge to resolve their family disputes. One drawback to this method is that you often come to view each other as adversaries and the courtroom as the battle ground. This can take an immense toll on emotions, finances and the well-being of your family. The Collaborative Law Process is a nonadversarial approach. The focus remains on how to solve your family's issues, rather than playing the blame game. You and your spouse work together with your respective attorneys and the professional team to achieve a mutual settlement without litigating, in turn easing the emotional and financial strains of the family

The "Collaborative Team" includes each spouse, their trained Collaborative lawyers, a neutral mental health professional, and a neutral financial professional. Your "Collaborative Team" will guide and support you as problem-solvers, not as adversaries.

A Mental Health Neutral facilitates each meeting, manages the emotions in the room, keeps the meetings on-schedule and productive, and meets with the couple outside the team meetings, if necessary, to assist with specific issues including Parenting Plans.

The Financial Neutral attends the team meetings, assists in gathering and organizing the financial information, creates workbooks containing spreadsheets and analyses, educates the couple about their finances, and assists in developing options, prompting discussions and negotiations.

If both you and your spouse are committed to using the Collaborative Law Process, and each as engaged an attorney experienced with collaborative divorce, the attorneys will select the Mental Health Neutral and the Financial Neutral based on their knowledge of each of their clients and the issues to be considered. Thereafter, your team will have a series of meetings, will exchange information, and will develop a clear understanding of your goals and expectations. Mutual problem-solving and option development will lead to a comprehensive written agreement.

The Collaborative process is different than mediation in that mediation is an alternative dispute resolution process usually utilized within litigation framework. While mediation can be very effective, it still employs the adversarial process and does not have the transparency of the collaborative process, nor does it use the team approach.

The Collaborative Law Process works to anticipate and address future needs best as possible, whereas traditional litigation can often leave families financially and emotionally damaged, with unresolved conflict, and short-lived agreements. The Collaborative Law Process anticipates future needs and goals while tailoring long-term solutions with the help of a professional team. A Collaborative Practitioner is a family law lawyer trained in problem-solving, conflict resolution, negotiation and advocacy. Shane T. Herbert will be your advocate and will meet with you to guide you throughout the process, educate you regarding the law, and prepare all the necessary documents to complete your divorce through this process.

Shane T. Herbert is trained in the Collaborative Law model and is dedicated to helping families resolve their divorce through this protected, family-focused manner, if the case is a good fit for the Collaborative Process. Contact Shane today to discuss if the Collaborative Law Process might be a good fit for your family's transition.