Interdisciplinary Collaborative Team-Divorce

Sometimes it becomes apparent in the Collaborative process that the couples would benefit from working on their budgets or planning their future financial options with a financial planner. At other times, a couple may need help in improving their communication so they can co-parent more productively or may need some help in focusing on the issues that need to be addressed in the divorce. Perhaps the parties find that voice of the child is missing in the Collaborative sessions which was especially problematic when the parents had different ideas as to how their children felt about a particular issue.

To address these issues, Collaborative Law began to expand into Collaborative Practice and adopted an interdisciplinary approach where financial persons, therapists, and children’s therapists who took Mediation and Collaborative Practice training joined with attorneys in Collaborative Practice Groups.

In the Team Approach, clients can hear about the Collaborative Divorce process from any of the professionals, but it begins by the clients choosing their collaborative attorneys. They will then choose a collaborative coach for each party, a neutral financial person and a child specialist. The attorneys draft and explain the Collaborative Participation Agreement which contains the same pledges to work towards a mutual agreement in a respectful manner without going to Court. The clients will also sign a consent that the various professionals speak to each other in an open exchange of information, as well as retainers with each of the professionals.

Alternatively, the initial process can begin with just the attorneys and clients, and the other professionals are called in as needed.

The coaches help the parties through the process by teaching them how to communicate most effectively with their spouse both in and out of sessions. If there are minor children, the coaches work on the parenting agreement with the parties and the child specialist.

The neutral financial specialist meets with the parties to help them gather the financial information necessary to have an effective meeting with their attorneys. The financial specialist helps the parties and the attorneys understand the consequences and implications of certain options the parties propose for settlement.

The attorneys meet with the parties in a series of meetings to exchange information and express their needs and expectations. They discuss the issues which need to be addressed for a comprehensive settlement, brainstorm options and arrive at a mutual settlement that meets each party’s needs and goals. Typically, there is one meeting with the financial specialist. Coaches may attend meetings if the communication between the parties prohibits productive discussions between them.

While this process seem to be quite costly in that the parties must retain several professionals, it has proven to be cost effective in that other professionals are performing some of the tasks that attorneys had performed at a much higher rate. More importantly, the coaches provide valuable assistance to keep the process moving along and decrease the time attorneys spend at unproductive meetings if the clients are too angry or upset to effectively communicate their needs and discuss options for settlement.

I Already Have a Therapist. Why Do I Need a Coach?
Coaching is not therapy. It is a very targeted, short term process where you can raise concerns about the process, such as talking to your spouse or your fears for the future. Your coach will address these concerns solely for the purpose of teaching you ways to deal with them and be able to effectively participate in meetings through using role plays or teaching you techniques you can use in the sessions to make you feel more comfortable.

Can’t My Child’s Therapist Speak for Her?
Since collaborative practice involves open sharing of information, it would be inappropriate for the child‘s therapist to be part of the process.

This Team Approach Seems like a Good Idea, but I’m Afraid it Would Be Too Costly?
It is difficult to address what might be “too costly". Certainly, the cost of litigation, both in emotional and financial terms is an enormous expense, as is hiring attorneys to perform jobs for which others are more qualified and can do at a lesser rate. The time wasted in four way sessions where clients continue to be “stuck” on divisiveness in spite of their attorneys best efforts to keep things moving along is also a wasteful expense.