Creative Solutions in the New Economy

One of the main reasons a couple may remain under the same roof even in the unhappy situation where they agree their relationship as a couple is over, is because of the cost of physically separating. How can the couple contemplate existing under two household roofs while still earning the same family income? And in our new economy, how can the couple separate when the main family asset – the family home – is not likely to sell in the foreseeable future due to the quiet real estate market we are experiencing? The influences and effects of the new economy show even more vividly why the collaborative legal process is so attractive to separating couples over the court option. A judge’s hands are tied with respect to applying creative solutions. The courtroom is a place of blunt, inflexible justice, to be sought only when the parties in dispute have exhausted all other means of resolving the differences between them. But in the collaborative process, the parties are free to explore every possible solution that arises through the process, since the parties have opted out of the requirement of applying the strict law to the issues arising from their uncoupling. Now, more than ever, we need creative solutions to dispute resolution. The time for change is here.

A MARATHON COLLABORATIVE SUCCESS STORY

Lawyers Danny Zack and Susan Kurtz of the Collaborative Law Group of the Kootenays www.nocourt.ca are relaxing into the thrill of feeling a job well done. Together they recently assisted a couple to a resolution of all legal issues arising from the breakdown of their marriage, while at the same time, protecting the child from negative effects of the separation, in a marathon collaborative process that took 3 days. Six weeks ago, Danny and Susan agreed to attempt to help these opposing parties come to a resolution in a compressed period of time. The couple had been married for 15 years and the legal issues they faced as a result of uncoupling were not simple. The case involved children, spousal support and property division. One parent wanted to relocate from the Kootenays to Calgary with the children. The other parent was strongly opposed to the idea. One parent wanted spousal support and the other parent did not want to contribute to a perceived voluntary state of unemployment.

Danny Zack flew from his office in Vancouver to Castlegar on a Wednesday to assist this Kootenay couple in a team that included Nelson collaborative lawyer, Susan Kurtz. The first 4-way meeting took place on Wednesday afternoon. After a one hour supper break, the collaborative process resumed on Wednesday evening. The parties and lawyers reconvened on Thursday and Friday for more collaborative sessions. The parties reached mutually agreeable resolutions on all legal issues by Friday. Lawyer Susan Kurtz drafted the Agreement on Friday and the lawyers met on Saturday morning to make revisions to the draft Agreement. On Saturday, the parties signed the formal Separation Agreement, and thereby legal issues from the uncoupling were resolved.

The whole exercise cost each party a fraction of the legal fees it would have cost to resolve these legal issues through the court process. But even better, both parents report that their ability to effectively communicate with each other about their children noticeably improved within 24 hours of reaching a final settlement. Says he, “We haven’t been able to talk like this in a few years. It’s a miracle. I know I made the right choice when I retained a lawyer with the Collaborative Law Group of the Kootenays.”

CBC Films Reality TV Collaborative Divorce

Don’t miss the film “How to Divorce and Not Wreck the Kids” scheduled to be aired on CBC on January 9, 2009. Danny Zack, a lawyer member of our Collaborative Law Group of the Kootenays, is one of two lawyers featured in a divorce done the collaborative way on camera. The case involved a couple named Lionel and Sally from Vancouver Island who agreed to be filmed. The case involved a 17 year marriage and 2 children. The producer of this documentary says this: Parents contemplating divorce are barraged with “divorce from hell” stories – the kind that leave children scarred for life. But there is another reality. Grass roots Canadians are at the heart of a quiet revolution – couples working on “good” divorces, which acknowledge that the end of a marriage isn’t the end of a family. How to Divorce and Not Wreck the Kids takes viewers directly into the heart of one of the most emotionally devastating life transitions, as three courageous Canadian couples determined to keep the needs of their children front and centre, separate on camera. Roland and Carolyne use a do-it-yourself divorce kit. Mike and Melissa work with a mediator. And Lionel and Sally use a new and controversial process called collaborative divorce. How to Divorce and Not Wreck the Kids offers the latest compelling evidence to convince separating parents to keep conflict away from their kids.

How to Divorce and Not Wreck the Kids airs on CBC Television Thursday January 8th at 9pm.

Collaborative Divorce

The primary goal of the Collaborative Family Law process is to settle unresolved issues involved in a separation and divorce in a non-adversarial manner. This method of dispute resolution is a relatively new option for separating couples. It began in the United States in the early 1990s and first became available in Vancouver in 1999.

There are now over 200 practice groups in a growing list of countries which includes England, Ireland, Scotland, Switzerland, Austria, Australia, and, of course, the United States and Canada. An international organization was founded over six years ago and is known as The International Academy of Collaborative Professionals. That organization includes lawyers, health care professionals and financial specialists.

At the 7th Annual Forum of The International Academy of Collaborative Professionals held in San Diego, California during October 2006, there were almost 600 attending registrants. All were enthusiastic about the benefits to their clients of resolving disputes in a non-adversarial, non-litigation manner. In addition, the lawyers were equally if not more enthusiastic about the ability to practice with less stress and the delivery to the client of a better product at a typically much reduced emotional and financial cost.

The Collaborative Law process means that the parties decide at the outset not to go to Court. With the help of their professionals, they try to minimize, if not eliminate, the negative economic, social and emotional consequences that often result from "going to Court". Rather than looking backwards and attempting to paint one's spouse in as negative a light as possible, the Collaborative Law process looks to the future in assisting parties with matters of parenting, custody, guardianship, access, division of assets, child and spousal support.

It is well acknowledged that often it is the children who suffer the most when families separate and legal proceedings take place. The Collaborative Law process seeks to minimize, if not eliminate, the stress and negativity that is often visited upon children when divorce litigation takes place.

In a perfect world, divorce would not occur and parents and children would live happily ever after. Unfortunately, that does not always occur. However, when divorce becomes a reality, an amicable divorce is possible, and the Collaborative process makes that possibility more likely.

Where to Find a Collaborative Lawyer

It is a good idea for the two of you to work together at selecting lawyers to carry you through the collaborative process. You both want to hire lawyers who have a proven demonstrated history of being able to successfully work together to bring parties to resolution through the collaborative process. Not all lawyers can work collaboratively. Lawyers are traditionally trained to work in opposition with each other, trained to think in the eventual possibility that a judge will determine who wins. Traditional lawyers do not think in terms of resolution because they are trained to think in terms of winning and losing, right and wrong. In the collaborative process everyone is a winner and there are no losers. If you use the collaborative process, you want to avoid hiring lawyers who have no experience working together in this new collaborative way, or worse yet, two lawyers who don't even know each other! In the old school way of doing things, one of you would go talk to a lawyer, that lawyer would promptly write a nasty letter or start a lawsuit or both, which in turn would prompt the other of you to engage what you hoped was an even nastier lawyer. The unspoken goal, traditionally, was to hire two sharpshooters for a shootout in court, with only one expected to be left standing in the end, in an attempt to prove who is right. When you are proceeding in the collaborative way, you want to avoid hiring lawyers who predominantly have honed their skills in the court room battlefield. But where do you find two experienced collaborative lawyers who have worked together for opposing parties? The answer is in a Collaborative Law Practice Group. A Collaborative Practice Group is a group of lawyers, coaches, child specialists and financial planners who have formed a group in their local community for the purpose of working together collaboratively. Members of a collaborative practice group regularly get together to practice their collaborative skills and to take further practice trainings together. The members of the Collaborative Practice Group of the Kootenays are all also Members of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals (IACP). There are Collaborative Law Practice Groups now in every major centre in North America, and in 14 countries worldwide. You can link to any of these worldwide practice groups and you can find a collaborative lawyer from the IACP website. (www.collaborativepractice.com)

Lawyers Working Together

The unique feature of the Collaborative Law Process is that opposing lawyers actually work together at helping the two of you settle your differences, rather than work in opposition. This arrangment benefits everyone involved. The lawyers remain independant legal advisors and your solicitor/client relationship is not comprimised. How can lawyers representing opposing positions in a dispute work together? That is the art of practising Collaborative Law. That is also the reason why it is important for you and the opposing party to coordinate efforts at selecting the two lawyers fror your team. It is best to select two collaborative lawyers who have a demonstrated in other successful cases that they have the ability to work on a team representing opposing parties. A Collaborative Law Group is comprised of lawyers who regularly work together for opposite parties. You do not want to hire lawyers who have never worked together, or worse, have never even met each other.

Collaborative Law - Did you know?

Collaborative Law Group of Nelson -- NoCourt.ca

• Collaborative lawyers are interested in helping opposing parties reach mutually acceptable terms of a legally enforceable Separation Agreement.
• You can apply for a no court divorce after you have reached the terms of a Separation Agreement through the collaborative divorce process.
• Alternative dispute resolution is about find solutions rather than proving who is right.
• It is very important that your rights and your children’s rights are protected through the terms of a separation agreement before you apply for a no court divorce.
• Divorce does not have to be a fight. Let us coach you to design your own final divorce order through agreement. The Collaborative Process is the dignified way to divorce.
• Collaborative lawyers are also trained mediators. But, a mediator alone cannot offer legal advice. In collaborative divorce, you have your legal adviser with you at all times.
• Collaborative lawyers are interested in the health and well being of their community more than helping you prove who is right. Collaborative divorce is a healthy and dignified and fair solution.
• Courts are about laying blame and finding fault. Collaborative divorce is no fault divorce. Collaborative law is about finding solutions to disputes.
• In the court process, a judge decides who is the winner and who is the loser. In a collaborative divorce, the each member of the family are winners.

Collaborative Law Group of Nelson -- NoCourt.ca

What is a Collaborative Practice Group?

A collaborative practice group is a group of lawyers and other helping professionals who have formed a connection so that they can collectively offer you a team approach to dispute resolution. It’s best for opposing parties to retain two lawyers who have worked together for opposite parties and have a proven record of success. You can find two such lawyers in a Collaborative Practice Group.

The Collaborative Law Group of Nelson is a collaborative practice group. Visit our site to learn more about our services. www.NoCourt.ca

Getting to Collaborative Law

Hi there,

I have been reading the venerable best-seller "Getting to Yes" by Roger Fisher and William Ury. Although first published over 25 years ago it is amazing to see how current it remains in relation to the increasingly popular phenomenon of collaborative Family Law. The fundamental principles have been around a long time! It just took savvy people, like Stu Webb and the thousands who have dared to break the mold and employed collaborative family law practice to resolve their own issues, to prove that it can work in the settlement of divorce cases. In fact based on my experiences, I would say that people are consistently getting better separation agreements, faster and cheaper using collaborative family practice. Here's to the pioneers! Lets keep up the good work

Out of Court Divorce - Collaborative Process

Out of Court Divorce - Nelson BC

The Collaborative Process:

• begins with a Participation Agreement
• when applied to divorce results in huge Benefits including less stress, lower costs and happier kids without going to court
• moves the focus from blame to resolution
• differs from mediation in that a mediator is a neutral party who cannot offer advice or opinions, where the collaborative process allows both parties to have active legal advisors - you are never on your own - your collaborative Lawyer is at your side explaining issues and helping you achieve goals by mutual participation and agreement

Out of Court Divorce Web Site

A Better Way to Divorce

No Court Divorce
Studies show that most marriages today are re-marriages. That means that most of us will be married more than once in our lifetime. And that means that we will each go through at least one uncoupling in our lives, maybe two or three, if we are statistically normal. Since it is the norm rather than the exception, why do some people still treat an uncoupling as a failure of some sort? We do not need to regard separation and divorce as some sort of pathological event. We can resolve the legal issues that arise when we decide to go our separate ways with ease, dignity and grace using the Collaborative Process, not to mention keeping our coin in our pocket.
Visit NoCourt.ca for more information.

From Blame to Resolution

Collaborative Law Group of Nelson
The court system is set up to find fault and lay blame. But the legal issues that arise when a couple separate have nothing to do with finding fault. Are you ready to move from blame to resolution?

The two basic legal issues following an uncoupling are: what do we do about the children, and, how do we divide our property and debt? Because pointing fingers and laying blame are not helpful exercises in determining these legal issues, the courtroom is probably not the best place to resolve issues concerning children or property after a separation. The Collaborative Process allows you to find mutually acceptable resolutions to the legal issues, in a kind and respectful way, without creating even more anxiety and stress for you, your children and your former spouse.

Visit the Collaborative Law Group of Nelson web site.

Collaborative Law Group of Nelson

The Collaborative Law Group of Nelson offers a healthy and dignified no court solution to divorce and other civil disputes to the residents of the East and West Kootenays, including Nelson, Castlegar, Trail, Salmo, Nakusp, Slocan, Creston, Kaslo, Silverton, New Denver and Rossland.

We are a group of independent professional lawyers, counsellors, financial advisors and child specialists who are all highly skilled mediators and trained at working together collaboratively to provide you and your family assistance when you need it most, that is, when you are moving through a family transition. We join professional Collaborative Practice Groups that have now formed in every major centre throughout North America and Europe so that the residents of the East and West Kootenay have available in the local area The Collaborative Way to Divorce, a concept created by Stuart G. Webb and Ronald D. Ousky in 1999, and now a book by the same name.

Visit the Collaborative Law Group of Nelson web site for more information.

Collaborative Law Group of Nelson

What is a collaborative practice group?

A collaborative practice group is a group of lawyers and other helping professionals who have formed a connection so that they can collectively offer you a team approach to dispute resolution. It’s best for opposing parties to retain two lawyers who have worked together for opposite parties and have a proven record of success. You can find two such lawyers in a Collaborative Practice Group. Visit our links page to find Collaborative Practice groups everywhere.

Collaborative lawyers are interested in helping opposing parties reach mutually acceptable terms of a legally enforceable Separation Agreement.

Collaborative Law Group of Nelson
Nelson, BC Canada

No Court Divorce

Did you know?

• You can apply for a no court divorce after you have reached the terms of a Separation Agreement through the collaborative divorce process.
  
• Alternative dispute resolution is about find solutions rather than proving who is right.

The Collaborative Law Group of Nelson offer a no court alternative for dispute resolution, including separation and divorce, to the residents of the Kootenays in British Columbia. Visit our site at NoCourt.ca for more information.