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.
Divorce court here in Florida is a terrible way to resolve disputes. Divorce litigation is an adversarial proceeding where husband is pitted against wife, mother is pitted against father.
And it is the children who end up suffering the most.
But don’t take my word for it. Tampa psychologist Stephanie Moulton Sarkis writes about the consequences of high conflict divorce on children:
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http://www.collaborativefamilylawfl.com/collaborative-training/
BASIC AND ADVANCED COLLABORATIVE TRAINING
Friday January 6 – Saturday January 7, 2017 – Basic Training from 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Sunday January 8, 2017- Advanced Training from 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
PLACE: Nova Southeastern University, 3301 College Ave., Davie, FL, – Maltz Psychology Building
Are you an attorney who wants to offer an alternative to litigation to your divorcing clients? Have you heard about this new way of assisting clients through divorce without the need for court
involvement? Are you a Financial Professional, Mental Health Professional or Mediator wanting to offer alternatives to traditional litigation support in divorce?
Divorce can be one of the most turbulent times in your life, and so it makes me feel good when I can help clients gain a sense of empowerment and stability.
In a recent review on Avvo.com, a former client of mine discusses how our firm and the collaborative process helped her take back control of her life.
FLORIDA BAR NOTICE: Please note that every case is different, and that you may not receive the same or similar results.
I no longer litigate. This means that I do not appear in contested court hearings in Tampa or any other area in which I practice. I have made this decision because I have found that most people who are divorcing do not want to tear down their spouse in court; rather they want to move on with their lives, as peacefully, privately, and quickly as possible.
In the video below, collaborative attorney Enid Miller Ponn Discusses why she no longer litigates:
Tampa attorney Adam B. Cordover lead a workshop at the 17th Annual Educational and Networking Forum of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals (“IACP”). The Forum took place in Lake Las Vegas, Nevada, and was attended by hundreds of attorneys, mental health professionals, financial professionals, mediators, and other supportive of helping families resolve disputes respectfully and privately via the collaborative process.
Cordover lead the workshop alongside Barrie, Ontario lawyer Brian Galbraith and Seattle, Washington attorney Kevin Scudder. The program was called “Collaborative Multiverse,” and the idea was to lead a townhall-style debate and discussion among experienced collaborative practitioners on issues affecting collaborative practice.
Brian Galbraith, Adam B. Cordover, and Kevin Scudder at the 17th Annual IACP Forum (2016)
One topic that was discussed was determining the best collaborative model to use for each particular family. Different parts of the world predominantly use different arrangements of professionals to resolve divorce and other issues. In Florida, the main model that is used is known as the Neutral Facilitator model, where each party has an attorney, a neutral facilitator with a mental health licensure helps with parenting issues and ensures discussions are future-focused, and a neutral financial professional aids in creating family budgets and ensures financial transparency and disclosure.
We are in exciting times! In March of this year, Governor Rick Scott signed the Collaborative Law Process Act, and rules of procedure and professional conduct are pending before the Florida Supreme Court. Divorce attorneys and other professionals are realizing that being trained in the collaborative method is now essential for any family law-related practice. This presents a tremendous opportunity for expansion for all of our practice groups.
It is in this environment that we are excited to announce the formation of a new training team! Tampa Bay Collaborative Trainers offer a customized two-day introductory interdisciplinary training in the neutral facilitator/neutral mental health professional model at a low-risk cost structure that will help you build a vibrant collaborative community.
One of the great things about collaborative law is that families are not handcuffed by the over-scheduled dockets of judges, nor are they bound by the confines of the overcrowded courthouse. This provides families and professionals with a lot of freedom on how, when, and where they make long-lasting decisions and resolve disputes.
Still, it can sometimes be daunting to organize meetings around the busy lives of spouses and practitioners. Here are four tools to help communication in collaborative cases, and the best part is that do not cost a dime.
One of the toughest initial tasks of any collaborative divorce case is to find a time that works for all of the professionals to plan out how to best help out the family. Similarly, carving a time that also works for both spouses for the first full team meeting adds two more calendars to consider.
Fortunately, Doodle provides an easy and free way to help coordinate schedules. Simply go to their website, provide some basic information such as title for the event, location, description, your name, and your e-mail address, and then fill out a grid for all of the proposed dates and times of your meeting. Next, provide the e-mail addresses of the people with whom you need to schedule, and Doodle will send out a message inviting everyone to fill out the grid. Every time someone responds, you will get a notification, and Doodle will indicate the date(s) and time(s) that works best for everyone. If no time and date works for everyone, simply create another Doodle.
I have found that in person meetings are generally the best way to communicate in collaborative cases. However, in person meetings are not always possible, and sometimes they are not desirable.
Gary Direnfeld is a social worker based in Dundas, Ontario, where the courts consider him an expert in social work, marital therapy, child development, and custody and access matters. And Gary has a message for spouses considering divorce: stay out of the courts.
I got to know Gary this summer at a training in Chicago where we were learning to teach divorce lawyers and practitioners how to become peacemakers. He is passionate about his work to help families in difficult circumstances. In the short video below, Gary discusses an alternative to divorce court battles that he recommends: collaborative law.
In May 2016, Tampa hosted the 4th Annual Conference of the Florida Academy of Collaborative Professionals. The conference ended up being the largest gathering of collaboratively-trained attorneys, mental health professionals, and financial professionals in the organization’s history.
You can find a video of highlights of the conference after the jump.
The World of Collaborative Practice Magazine is an online forum for collaborative professionals to write about news as well as the latest trends in collaborative practice. On September 15, 2016, the Magazine published the transcript of an iHeart radio interview from here in Tampa of a father discussing his collaborative divorce. The father, “Claire,” appeared with his collaborative attorney Julia Best Chase, along with Family Diplomacy managing attorney Adam B. Cordover, who represented Clair’s wife.
You can find a portion of the article reproduced after the jump.
