Hi, I'm Julie Tietz. And welcome to Conflict Resolution, Putting the Pieces Together. Today we're going to cover the collaborative law dispute resolution process. So why don't we get started.
First, we have our key terms. Collaborative law, also called divorce mediation. A conflict resolution process used to settle financial and/or child care and custody issues between divorcing or separating couples.
Participation agreement, an agreement by a divorcing or separating couple required to initiate divorce mediation.
Collaborative law is a legal process in which couples who have decided to separate or end their marriage. And they work with their lawyers and other professionals, which could be family therapists. And mediators can be involved in this process. But the agreements that come out of the mediation must be reviewed by the lawyers involved in the process.
Collaborative law also avoids the uncertain outcome of court. So we're not relying solely on or worrying solely on what the judge is going to decide in the outcome of our case. Also it works to meet the specific needs of both parties and their children. And this is done without the underlying threat of a contested litigation. So through collaborative law, we are working to best meet the needs of the parties who are in control of the process.
A participation agreement is necessary to begin the process of collaborative law. So once we go through the process of signing this participation agreement, we are in a binding contract with each other. And this contract would disqualify then our respective lawyers' right to represent either one in any future family related litigation. So let's say my lawyer is Patti and my husband's lawyer is Sue. And if we can't come to an agreement through this collaborative law process, then Patti and Sue can't represent either myself or my soon to be ex-husband.
Some advantages that people see for a collaborative law is that it reduces the contentiousness that can be associated with going through a divorce proceeding. And the parties in this have a lot greater control over the outcomes, because they are working together to present what they want to see happen.
In order for this to be effective, parties must have a desire to collaborate with each other. If that desire to collaborate is not present, then the collaborative law process is not going to work.
So now that we've covered our collaborative law process, let's go over the key points. Collaborative law is a legal process in which couples who have decided to separate or end their marriage work with lawyers to come to some sort of agreement or conclusion. And this avoids uncertain outcomes involved in a court process. The parties here have more control over what the outcome is going to be, rather than putting the control of the outcome in a judge. And the effectiveness relies on the parties willingness to collaborate with each other. Without that willingness, then the collaborative law process is not going to work.
Thank you so much for taking the time out to view this tutorial. And I hope to catch you again next time.