Collaborative Divorce Process - It's Not Mediation

Collaborative Divorce offers a middle ground between mediation and full adversarial litigation. Many people think that collaborative divorce law is really just mediation "dressed up." There are two primary differences between mediation and the collaborative divorce law process.

First, in mediation, the parties meet with one neutral mediator and each advocate their own positions. In the Collaborative Divorce law process, each party is fully and individually represented throughout the process. The entire focus of the collaborative process is to develop a settlement that, as much as possible, meets both parties' needs going forward into the next phase of life.

Second, the mediator cannot give any party advice or assist either of them in advocating a position. Because each party in a collaborative divorce is represented by an attorney throughout the process, spouses who might not be skilled in negotiating or in understanding financial or legal nuances can feel secure, knowing that his or her lawyer is protecting their interests and providing accurate legal information in all phases of the collaborative divorce law process.