"Transforming the culture of divorce to preserve family."
Collaborative Practice
- You decide your future, not the court or judge
- Solution not blame focused
- Parties work together in a spirit of respect and cooperation
- Up-front agreement is made to settle issues in a non-adversarial way, without going to court
- Agreements reached through a series of 4-way meetings between spouses and attorneys
Family Mediation
- You decide your future, not a judge
- Spouses meet with a neutral mediator who facilitates discussion about issues
- Forms the agreement that becomes the basis for your Judgment of Divorce
- You can consult with an attorney during negotiations or after a tentative agreement is reached
- Benefits include: freedom to shape your own divorce, less stress, cost-efficient, minimization of court appearances
Litigation
- Traditional method of divorce
- Decisions are made by a third party
- Can include written interrogations, subpoenas, and depositions of the spouses and other parties to gather information
- Mediation can be later be used if agreements aren’t being reached
- Settlement conference with the judge will be held if parties cannot come to an agreement