COLLABORATIVE DIVORCE AND FAMILY LAW IN FLORIDA. No matter how you look at it, divorce and family law matters are difficult to go through. Expectations of stability are shattered,

mistrust grows, and bills pile up. And then the litigation begins. Attorneys file and serve petitions, counterpetitions, requests to produce, and motions to compel. Each party hires dueling mental health experts to convince a judge that he or she should have more time with the children. Privacy is eliminated as each party’s life is probed and publicly questioned so that one side may gain a tactical advantage.

But there is a different way. A more civilized way. And it is called Collaborative Family Law (also known as Collaborative Divorce or Collaborative Practice).

We are a Collaborative law firm dedicated to helping people resolve personal disputes without destroying their families. We encourage the use of the Collaborative Family Law model in divorce, child custody, child support, alimony, post-judgment, prenuptial, and most other family law cases. Further, Adam B. Cordover is an internationally-recognized leader in Collaborative Practice, a trainer who teaches other professionals how to help families Collaboratively, and author of an upcoming American Bar Association book on Collaborative Law.

2016 Collaborative Law Process Act Making Progress in Florida Legislature

February 2, 2016/0 Comments/in Collaborative Divorce, Divorce, Legislative Update //Tags: alimony, child custody, child support, collaborative attorney, collaborative divorce, collaborative family law, collaborative practice, divorce, equitable distribution, parental responsibility, parenting plan, postnuptial agreement, prenuptial agreement, property division, relocation, time-sharing, visitationby Adam

Senate Bill 972, the “Collaborative Law Process Act,” is making its way through the Florida Senate and will hopefully become law this summer.

[UPDATE 2: Governor Scott signed the Collaborative Law Process Act on 3/24/16]

[UPDATE: The Collaborative Law Process Act Passed the Florida Legislature on 3/4/16. Learn more about it in the following Article: Collaborative Law Process Act Protects Families’ Privacy]

The Collaborative Law Process Act creates a legal framework for families to resolve disputes outside of court. The bill specifies that family law matters under chapters 61 or 742 of the Florida Statutes may be resolved via the collaborative process. These family law matters include the following:

Divorce;
Alimony and child support;
Marital property and debt distribution;
Child custody and visitation (also known as time-sharing and parental responsibility);
Parental relocation with a child;
Prenuptial and postnuptial agreements; and
Paternity.

Families in Tampa Bay, Greater Sarasota, and throughout the state of Florida are already utilizing the collaborative process to resolve divorce and other matters privately and respectfully, but a big improvement with this bill is that there will be a statutory framework to ensure discussions had in the collaborative process can be enforced as confidential. Read more →

Family Diplomacy Proud Sponsor of WUSF / NPR

February 1, 2016/0 Comments/in Collaborative Divorce, Family Law News //Tags: collaborative attorney, collaborative divorce, collaborative facilitator, collaborative family law, collaborative financial professional, Collaborative Law, collaborative mental health professional, collaborative practice, divorceby Adam

Family Diplomacy: A Collaborative Law Firm is now a proud sponsor of WUSF, Tampa Bay’s local National Public Radio (“NPR”) partner.

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You may periodically hear on NPR that “Family Diplomacy: A Collaborative Law Firm reminds you that divorce need not be destructive. More information about collaborative divorce can be found at (813) 443-0615 or FamilyDiplomacy.com.”

Jennifer Gunnin Guest Speaker at Collaborative Staff Training

January 20, 2016/0 Comments/in Collaborative Divorce, Family Law News //Tags: collaborative divorce, collaborative divorce trainingby Adam

Family Diplomacy is proud to announce that our own paralegal, Jennifer Gunnin, is scheduled to be a guest speaker at a unique collaborative training geared towards managing attorneys and staff: Managing Your Collaborative Practice for Passion & Profit. The training is hosted by Joryn Jenkins of Open Palm Law and also includes a guest appearance by internationally renowned collaborative lawyer and mediator Forrest (Woody) Mosten.

Managing Your Collaborative Practice for Passion & Profit is taking place this Friday, January 22, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time at the Hillsborough County Bar Association building, located at 1610 North Tampa Street, Tampa, Florida 33602. Registrants may also attend via live stream over the internet.

Below is from a recent flyer:

Next Generation Divorce Honors Hillsborough Judge Ashley Moody

January 19, 2016/0 Comments/in Collaborative Divorce, Family Law News //Tags: collaborative attorney, collaborative divorce, collaborative family law, Collaborative Law, collaborative practice, family law judges, Tampa Bay Collaborative Divorce, Tampa Bay Collaborative Family Law, thirteenth judicial circuitby Adam

As one of my last duties as president of Next Generation Divorce, I had the opportunity to induct Judge Ashley Moody of the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit as an Honorary Member of the collaborative practice group at our December holiday party. Judge Moody, based out of the Edgecomb Courthouse in Tampa, Florida, has been a strong supporter of the use of collaborative family law as a method to help families resolve issues related to divorce and other matters in a private, nonadversarial, and respectful setting.

Judge Moody’s induction into Next Generation Divorce was announced in the January 15th edition of the Florida Bar News:

Video 3: Catherine Conner on Structuring A Collaborative Practice Group

January 12, 2016/1 Comment/in Collaborative Divorce //Tags: collaborative attorney, collaborative divorce, collaborative family law, collaborative financial professional, Collaborative Law, collaborative mental health professional, collaborative practiceby Adam

In a series of videos for Cutting Edge Law taped in 2008, leading collaborative lawyer Catherine Conner discusses creating, building, and structuring a collaborative practice group. Catherine Conner is one of the founders and a former president of the Collaborative Council of the Redwood Empire, a collaborative practice group out of California, and Catherine would go on to become president of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals.

A collaborative practice group is a network of independent professionals dedicated to helping people resolve disputes outside of court via the collaborative process. The collaborative process is a form of alternative dispute resolution where each party has an attorney, and the parties sign a written agreement that says that their attorneys will only be focused on resolving their dispute privately; the attorneys cannot be used by the parties to fight in court against one another.

Some collaborative practice groups only have attorneys as members, while other practice group are interdisciplinary and also include mental health professionals and financial professionals. Some practice groups promote the use of the collaborative process in all sorts of civil matters such as employment law, contract disputes, business dissolution, medical malpractice, or other matters, while other practice groups focus on one area of the law, such as family law.

You can find Catherine’s video on structuring a collaborative practice group after the jump:

Video 2: Catherine Conner on Building a Collaborative Practice Group

January 11, 2016/1 Comment/in Collaborative Divorce //Tags: collaborative attorney, collaborative divorce, collaborative practice, IACP, International Academy of Collaborative Professionalsby Adam

Before Catherine Conner was president of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals, she was the president of the Redwood Empire collaborative practice group, one of the leading practice groups in the nation. In 2008, Catherine taped a series of videos for Cutting Edge Law on creating and building a collaborative practice group.

You can find video 2 of 3 after the jump (and video 1 here and video 3 here):

Video: Catherine Conner on Creating A Collaborative Practice Group

January 8, 2016/2 Comments/in Collaborative Divorce //Tags: collaborative attorney, collaborative divorce, collaborative practice, International Academy of Collaborative Professionalsby Adam

A collaborative practice group is a network of independent professionals who promote the use of the collaborative process to resolve disputes outside of court. A practice group is similar to a local bar association (i.e. Hillsborough County Bar Association, St. Pete Bar Association, etc.), in that it provides an opportunity for professionals to get to know one another and to increase their skills so that they can better serve clients. Practice groups are oftentimes also used to help educate the public about this form of alternative dispute resolution that is most often utilized in divorce and family law matters.

In 2008, Cutting Edge Law interviewed Catherin Conner, a California attorney and immediate past president of the Redwood Empire practice group, on creating a practice group. You can find part 1 of 3 videos after the jump (and 2 of 3 here and 3 of 3 here; the other video will come in later posts and are also available on the Cutting Edge Law website):

Do You Need A Divorce Second Opinion?

January 4, 2016/0 Comments/in Collaborative Divorce, Divorce, Divorce Court //Tags: collaborative attorney, collaborative divorce, collaborative facilitator, collaborative family law, collaborative financial professional, Collaborative Law, collaborative mental health professional, collaborative practice, dissolution of marriage, divorce, litigation freezeby Adam

As the New Year is upon us, many people are reflecting upon the past year and determining what changes need to be made for the coming year. If you have been going through a tough, litigious divorce in Florida in 2015, perhaps it is time to reassess your divorce strategy and divorce process.

According to the traditional family law model, divorce is a zero-sum game where each party hires attack dog lawyers. The lawyers not only show their client in a positive light but also tear the other party down. Traditional divorce lawyers engage in damaging opposition research, through depositions, interrogatories, requests for production of documents and things, and requests for admissions. Of course, the other attorney defends against opposition research with objections, motions for protective orders, and discovery requests in response.

Traditional divorce lawyers then set public hearings on motions to compel, motions for contempt, and motions for attorneys’ fees and costs. Even after these motions are heard, parties may still be years away from a final trial.

Does this sound familiar? Are you unhappy about the path that your divorce has taken? If so, you may want to consider getting a second opinion on your divorce.

Number 10

A Low Profile Divorce for High Profile People

We see it in the news and magazines all of the time. Publicly available divorce documents accuse a celebrity of secretly supporting a child born out of wedlock. Sports figures’ assets and judgment become public spectacles. Politicians and their spouses lob accusations at each other for all to see. Businessmen’s private details and dirty laundry end up as front page stories.

Fortunately, your divorce does not need to be in the public eye…

Number 9

Video: Stu Webb’s Collaborative Divorce & Jazz

Now, as it turns out, Stu Webb is not only the founder of collaborative divorce, but he is also an avid fan of Jazz. You can find a short video he helped create comparing collaborative divorce to jazz…

Number 8

Tampa Collaborative Divorce Consultation

Since I opened my law practice, I have received phone calls from potential clients asking if they could bring their spouse to the divorce consultation. Their purpose was to go to a lawyer together, hear the same information, and demonstrate that they are not trying to hire a “pitbull lawyer” or engage in dirty trial tactics. They simply wanted to dissolve their marriage, and they did not want to fight in order to make the divorce happen…

Number 7

Do You Really Need An “Aggressive” Divorce Lawyer?

If you are considering divorce, whether here in Florida or elsewhere, and you are doing online research about family law attorneys, you will come across many firms that describe their attorneys as “aggressive” and “ready to fight for you.”

You will not find that type of language on Family Diplomacy’s website, as we believe that spouses should not be pitted against one another…

Number 6

UFC: Comparing Unified Family Courts with Ultimate Fighting Championship

The range of techniques that are displayed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship are absolutely breathtaking. From jabs to takedowns to flying armbars, each fighter attacks and counterattacks and does whatever he or she can to get the upper hand over the opponent. Similarly, in the Unified Family Courts, opposing attorneys and opposing parties engage in a variety of tactics in an attempt to build up one side and tear down the other…

Pauline Tesler on Stu Webb (from 1999)

December 24, 2015/0 Comments/in Collaborative Divorce //Tags: collaborative attorney, collaborative divorce, collaborative facilitator, collaborative family law, collaborative financial professional, Collaborative Law, collaborative mental health professional, collaborative practice, International Academy of Collaborative Professionalsby Adam

Stu Webb is known as the father of collaborative family law, a non-adversarial process where the spouses’ attorneys agree to focus solely on out-of-court dispute resolution. Pauline Tesler is oftentimes thought of as the mother of collaborative divorce, emphasizing the benefits of an interdisciplinary team and spearheading the creation of institutions, such as the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals (“IACP”), to help more families.

Back in 1999, Pauline wrote an article in the very first edition of the Collaborative Quarterly (requires IACP membership & password to access), a publication of the IACP (then known as the American Institute of Collaborative Professionals) about Stu Webb and the origins of collaborative law.

You can find excerpts from that article below:

Stuart Webb, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, had been practicing family law in the “usual way” for more than twenty years when, like many of us, he became interested during the late 1980’s in mediation and alternative dispute resolution….

Read more →