Family Law

The traditional divorce model pits husband versus wife, mother versus father. Collaborative Law is a refreshing team-oriented alternative. Each client retains a separate attorney whose job is to counsel the client and help resolve disputes. The attorneys work together to help both clients meet their needs. Open communication is advanced by a trained facilitator, while support and property options are developed by a neutral financial professional. The clients, attorneys, and other team members agree beforehand that the matter will not be brought into the court system until a full agreement is reached.

CREATIVE SOLUTIONS TO FAMILY MATTERS

The Collaborative Process allows for flexible, creative solutions to a family law matter. The team explores options that look beyond a legal framework by incorporating the skills and expertise of the facilitator and financial professional. Clients are encouraged to focus on the best interests of their family, rather than rigid negotiation positions, to reach their goals. In the unlikely event that a settlement is not reached, the Collaborative attorneys withdraw and litigation lawyers may be retained. The knowledge that the Collaborative attorneys cannot bring the case in front of a judge further permits the parties to speak openly about potential settlement options (and frees attorneys from conducting exhaustive, costly opposition research).

Jewish Press Spotlights Cordover

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The Jewish Press of Tampa, in its September 21, 2018 edition, spotlighted Family Diplomacy: A Collaborative Law Firm and its managing attorney, Adam B. Cordover.  Below you will find the spotlight:

Name of Business: Family Diplomacy: A Collaborative Law Firm

Location: 412 E. Madison St., Suite 824, Tampa

Ownership: Adam B. Cordover, graduate of Jewish Leadership Training Institute 2010

Q What services do you offer?

A Collaborative Divorce and Family Law, Mediation, Unbundled Legal Services, Adoptions, Name Changes

Q What inspires your work and sets you apart from everyone else?

A My firm focuses on helping people through difficult times in the least painful way possible. That is why we specialize in collaborative family law, where the children are the top priority and where respect and privacy are fostered.

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Cordover Receives Avvo Client Choice Award

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Collaborative family law attorney and Florida Supreme Court Certified Family Law Mediator Adam B. Cordover received the 2018 Avvo Client Choice Award.  The Award is provided to attorneys who receive five or more 4+ Stars in a calendar year (all Adam’s reviews have been five out of five stars).

Cordover receives 2018 Avvo Client Choice Award

Below are the reviews in 2018 that lead to the award:

Mr.

Adam was and still has been a tremendous resource to me with my tumultuous divorce process. He was honest and fair – he put me in my place when I got too riled up during the process and provided me a real picture of what needed to be done – and what the potential outcomes could be.

Adam was not an attorney that billed crazy hours and prolonged the case – he was steadfast and eager to help me – he did not ever drag things out like a lot of attorneys do just for some extra billing.

My case ended – and even after we had completed our business relationship, Adam continues to demonstrate his compassion towards me and my challenges with living as a divorced single father – not for the money – he seems to do it because he has taken ownership of my post-divorce challenges at times.

I highly recommend anyone going through a divorce to speak to Adam first about a collaborative approach to marriage termination – as well as all family legal matters.

While no one wants to face the challenges or realities that come with divorce, Adam will show you the truth before anyone else knows it – and help you plan for your future.

Posted by Kenneth on Avvo.

Five out of five stars.

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“Building A Successful Collaborative Family Law Practice” Now Available

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Today, the American Bar Association releases “Building A Successful Collaborative Family Law Practice,” edited by Forrest (Woody) Mosten and Adam B. Cordover.  The book includes experts from around the field in collaborative practice and out-of-court dispute resolution.

Purchase Book Here

Below is a list of the chapters and contributing authors:

Foreword: Nancy Cameron

Prologue: Making Collaborative and Non-Court Practice Your Day Job – Forrest S. Mosten & Adam B. Cordover
Chapter 1: Lawyers as Peacemakers. Really?!? Yes, Really. – David Hoffman
Chapter 2: How Collaborative Practice Will Improve Your Profitability – Robert Merlin
Chapter 3: Redefining Your Practice Signature and Creating a Profitable Peacemaking Practice – Kevin Scudder
Chapter 4: How Many Hats Can You Wear? Assessing If You Can Be a Collaborative Professional and Still Litigate – Carl Michael Rossi
Chapter 5: Being A Client Leader: The Art of Gaining New Collaborative Clients – Rich Grof
Chapter 6: Effectively Marketing Your Collaborative Practice – Gary Direnfeld
Chapter 7: Creating Collaborative Office Space – Zanita Zacks-Gabriel
Chapter 8: Integrating Technology into Your Collaborative Practice – Brian Galbraith
Chapter 9: Getting Buy-In for a Collaborative Approach from the Other Spouse and Attorney – Enid Miller Ponn
Chapter 10: The First Client Meeting: Gateway to a Collaborative Case – Bev Churchill

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Pre-Order Cordover Mosten ABA Book Now!

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Building A Successful Collaborative Family Law Practice by Forrest S. Mosten and Adam B. Cordover  is now available for pre-order on the American Bar Association website.  The book brings together experts in the field of collaborative practice to help professionals learn to make a living while helping families restructure in a better way.

Pre-Order Cordover Mosten Book Here!

Reviews have already started coming in:

I personally believe Woody Mosten and Adam Cordover have done the Collaborative Practice Community a tremendous service by bringing together this group of respected Collaborative Practitioners to share their experience and expertise. They gathered these voices to speak to the Collaborative Practice and peacemaking world, in an attempt to answer the call of the Community for more Collaborative cases and for a way to stop going to court forever. For those who want to devote their life and practice to changing how families resolve their disputes and to help them move forward in peace, this is the book for you.

Christopher M. Farish, Collaborative Lawyer

Dallas, Texas

President of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals

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Mosten & Cordover ABA Book Available in August

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It is almost here!  Forrest “Woody” Mosten and Adam B. Cordover’s “Building A Successful Collaborative Family Law Practice,” a compendium of practical tools from experts in the field, will be published by the American Bar Association Family Law Section in August 2018.

Forrest S. Mosten & Adam B. Cordover

This has been a nearly 3-year project that was sparked when Adam attended a Tampa course taught by Woody in 2015 on “How to Build a Profitable and Satisfying Collaborative and Mediation Practice.”  Woody’s course provided Adam with the tools to create an exclusively private dispute resolution, non-litigation family law practice.  This allowed Adam not only to feel confident in offering clients a better way through divorce and other family law issues, but also gave him the ability to chart his own path without the high stress associated with family law court battles.

It is with that in mind that Woody and Adam have gathered experienced practitioners to provide practical tools on how professionals can make collaborative practice and peacemaking work their day job.

Below is the Table of Contents from the book:

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Why Don’t You Have More Collaborative Family Law Cases? Advanced Training Opportunity

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We know that most divorcing spouses are better off using the collaborative process.  Still, you may not have as many collaborative cases as you want.  What challenges have you encountered when trying to enroll a collaborative family law case?

Does your heart pound when explaining the disqualification clause?  Are you worried about how to discuss costs?  Can you get your client to yes, but struggle to bring the other spouse on board?

The South Palm Beach Collaborative Practice Group invites attorneys, mental health professionals, and financial professionals to an Advanced Collaborative Training on It All Starts In The Initial Client Meeting – Enrolling the Collaborative Case.  The training will be taught by Adam B. Cordover, Esq., Jeremy S. Gaies, Psy.D., Barbara E. Kelly, Ph.D., and J. David Harper, CPA of the Tampa Bay Collaborative Trainers.  It takes place March 16, 2018, at the Boca Grove Golf & Tennis Club, 21351 Whitaker Dr., Boca Raton, Florida 33433.

Click Here for Registration Form

In this full day intensive advanced collaborative family law training, you will learn the keys to having a successful initial client meeting, including the following:

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Tampa Collaborative Training Registration Now Open

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It has been less than one year since Florida’s Collaborative Law Process Act has gone into effect.  Now is a perfect time to take a Two-Day Introductory Interdisciplinary Tampa Collaborative Training!

Click Here to Register!

Next Generation Divorce and Tampa Bay Academy of Collaborative Professionals are co-sponsoring the training to teach more professionals how to help families peacefully and privately to resolve their disputes.  The training will be conducted by the Tampa Bay Collaborative Trainers.

When:

  • Friday, April 6: Sign-in, continental breakfast and networking
    • 7:30 am
  • Friday, April 6: Training
    • 8:30 am to 5 pm
  • Saturday, April 7: Training
    • 9:00 am to 5 pm

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Top 20 Blog Posts of 2017

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As we enter the new year, sometimes it is helpful to take a look back.  Below are the top 20 most viewed blog posts here at FamilyDiplomacy.com (Click on the title to visit the blog post):

1. SB 590: New Florida Law on Child Support and Parenting Plans

On June 15, 2017, Florida Governor Rick Scott signed Senate Bill 590 (“SB 590”) into law.  SB 590 directs the Department of Revenue to provide parents with a proposed Standard Parenting Time Plan in Title IV-D child support cases.  The bill also authorizes the Department of Revenue to establish agreed-upon parenting plans.  Further, SB 590 waives court costs for families in a Title IV-D case who cannot agree on a parenting plan and are asking the courts to establish a plan.

2. Video: General’s Daughter Discusses Her Peaceful Divorce

Cynthia Schwarzkopf, daughter of General H. Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr, discusses how she and her husband utilized the collaborative family law process to dissolve her marriage in a video released by the Tampa Bay Collaborative Divorce Group.

3. How Often Do Collaborative Divorces Terminate?

Good, you have decided that if you are going to divorce, you are going to do it collaboratively. This means that you and your spouse will each have your own attorneys, but the attorneys are not there to fight. You hire the attorneys to help reach an out-of-court agreement so you can move on with your lives.

But you may also know that either spouse at any time can decide they no longer want to participate in the collaborative divorce, causing it to terminate. All professionals are automatically fired. The spouses then proceed as “opposing parties” in the traditional divorce court route.

The possibility of losing your attorney is a scary notion. So, you may be wondering to yourself, how often do collaborative divorces terminate?

4. Collaborative Law Rules Approved by Florida Supreme Court

On May 18, 2017, the Florida Supreme Court published an opinion approving collaborative law rules.  The collaborative law rules are the last step necessary before Florida’s Collaborative Law Process Act goes into effect.

The opinion approves Rule Regulating the Florida Bar 4-1.19 and Florida Family Law Rule of Procedure 12.745.

5. What is Collaborative Mediation?

If you are getting divorced, you want to move forward as peacefully, quickly, and cost-effectively as possible.  And so you should learn about collaborative mediation.

6. Bitcoin and Divorce

Bitcoin is a relatively new type of currency that is not controlled by any government but rather is decentralized.  It is oftentimes referred to as a “cryptocurrency” as it is not physical.  Bitcoins are maintained in virtual “wallets” and can be transferred via QR codes.

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Collaborative Law Training Ft. Lauderdale – January 5-6, 2018

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Give yourself and your clients a Christmas gift: Become trained in Collaborative Family Law!  Learn to address not only the legal needs of divorcing clients, but also the psychological and financial needs.  Find out what it is like to approach family law in a team-based manner, as opposed to an adversarial manner.

Tampa Bay Collaborative Trainers

Adam B. Cordover, Jeremy Gaies, Kristin DiMeo, and Enid Miller Ponn Demonstrate a Collaborative Divorce Team Prep Meeting

Join the Tampa Bay Collaborative Trainers at Nova Southeastern University in Davie, Florida, right outside of Ft. Lauderdale.

What: 2-DAY Interdisciplinary Introductory/Refresher Collaborative Training

Collaborative Family Law Professionals of South Florida

Sponsor: Collaborative Family Law Professionals of South Florida

Where: Nova Southeastern University, 3301 College Ave., Davie, FL  – Maltz Psychology Building (around Ft. Lauderdale)

When:  January 5-6, 2018 (A third, locally staffed advanced training will take place on January 14, 2018)

Continuing Education: CEUs, CMES, and CLEs will be applied for

Registration Now Open!  Click Here!

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Pensacola Introductory & Advanced Collaborative Training November 2-4

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Did you know that there was a major change to Chapter 61 of the Florida Statutes regarding Collaborative Family Law?  Are you confident that you can competently abide by Florida’s new Collaborative Law Rule of Professional Conduct and Rule of Procedure?  Or do you just want to learn how to help people divorce in a less stressful, more respectful, and child-centered manner?

Attorneys, mental health professionals, financial professionals, mediators, and others are welcomed to Pensacola for an Introductory and Advanced training on Interdisciplinary Collaborative Family Law!

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER NOW!

What/When:  

  • Introductory Interdisciplinary Collaborative Training – November 2-3, 2017
  • Enrolling the Collaborative Case Advanced Training – November 4, 2017

Where:  Pensacola, Florida

Cost:

  • $500 for 2-Day Introductory Training
  • $200 for Advanced Training (Enrolling the Collaborative Case)
  • Discounted rate of $650 for all 3 days

Host:  West Florida Collaborative Law, Inc.

Trainers:  Tampa Bay Collaborative Trainers

Learn more: Contact John Susko, Esq. at john@susko-collab-med.com OR Joshua Jones, Esq., at jjones@westfloridacollaborativelaw.com

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER NOW!

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