Collaborative Divorce in Michigan

The collaborative divorce process is selected by couples who want to limit the damage to their children as a result of the divorce. These couples want the opportunity to separate in the healthiest, least damaging way possible. This is achieved through the collaborative divorce process itself which provides tools for participants to learn to communicate better and respectfully — unlike adversarial divorce litigation.

The process streamlines your divorce by using neutral experts to help couples divorce in a smart way. Rather than attorneys directing all aspects of your divorce, the process is guided by a team of professionals with different types of expertise (legal, mental health, financial) who are all focused on a successful settlement. The type of professionals involved in your collaborative matter will vary and is customized to the specific issues that require resolution in your family law matter. This process is essentially “conscious uncoupling” which is best exemplified by the divorce of Gwenyth Paltrow and Chris Martin.

The collaborative process begins with each party being represented by a collaboratively trained attorney. From there, the attorneys assist you in determining whether a divorce coach or coaches (usually mental health professionals or family law mediators) will be needed, a child specialist, a financial specialist, and/or a business valuation expert. The parties and the collaborative professionals are all bound by a Collaborative Participation Agreement which sets the rules for your collaborative family law matter.

The key thing to remember is that the professionals involved CANNOT represent you in a litigation proceeding if the participants cannot reach an agreement in the collaborative process. This is the fundamental component of the collaborative process. You are assured that the participants are committed to settlement, rather than protracted litigation process that more often than not benefits the attorneys — not families.