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).

Jennifer Gunnin Guest Speaker at Collaborative Staff Training

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:

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…

Cordover Guest Speaker at Nova Southeastern University

November 10, 2015/0 Comments/in Collaborative Divorce, Family Law News //Tags: collaborative divorce training, military divorceby Adam

Tampa Collaborative Family Law Attorney Adam B. Cordover was a guest speaker at Nova Southeastern University’s 3-Day Collaborative Training, held November 6-8. Adam spoke on the topic of “Troubleshooting the Collaborative Divorce Roadmap.”

Attorneys, Mental Health Professionals, and Financial Professionals attended the training, though there was also a large contingent of mental health students. This conference was meant to kick start a groundbreaking program/clinic where the students would team up with professionals and offer collaborative divorce services to veterans.

Client Review: Name Change in Tampa Bay – Helpful and Thorough

November 6, 2015/0 Comments/in Family Law News, Family Lawyer Reviews / Testimonials, Legal Name Change /by Adam

A Tampa name change client of mine recently left a review of our legal services on Avvo.com. You can find the testimonial after the jump.

Lawyer Adam Cordover | Lawyer Divorce

FLORIDA BAR DISCLAIMER: Please note that every case is different, and you may not receive the same or similar results.

Money Talk 1010 AM: Mediation Divorce and Collaborative Divorce

November 4, 2015/0 Comments/in Collaborative Divorce, Family Law News //Tags: collaborative attorney, collaborative divorce, collaborative family law, Collaborative Law, collaborative practice, mediationby Adam

I recently had the opportunity to appear on Money Talk 1010 AM on the “Let’s Talk Law” Radio Program.

I was joined by Pasco and Pinellas family law attorney Audrey Jefferis, and we discussed, among other things, the similarities and differences between mediation divorce and collaborative divorce. The radio program, which you can listen to after the jump, was recorded in the St. Petersburg studios of Beasely Broadcasting.

Money Talk 1010 AM: Cost Savings of Collaborative Divorce Compared to Trial Divorce

October 11, 2015/0 Comments/in Collaborative Divorce, Family Law News //Tags: collaborative attorney, collaborative divorce, collaborative divorce training, collaborative facilitator, collaborative family law, collaborative financial professional, Collaborative Law, collaborative mental health professional, collaborative practice, dissolution of marriage, divorce, Tampa Bay Collaborative Divorce, Tampa Bay Collaborative Family Lawby Adam

I recently was at the St. Petersburg studios of Money Talk 1010 AM with fellow attorney Joryn Jenkins to discuss, among other things, how a collaborative divorce tends to make more financial sense then going through the traditional courthouse divorce. The discussion was facilitated by Let’s Talk Law’s Roxanne Wilder and sponsored by Next Generation Divorce.

The radio program begins around the 5:30 mark after the jump below.

Cordover Presents on LGBTQ+ Family Law in Sarasota

October 10, 2015/0 Comments/in Family Law News, LGBT Family Law Matters //Tags: bisexual parental rights, bisexual rights, gay adoption, gay and lesbian couples, gay and lesbian parents, gay marriage, gay marriage ban, gay parental rights, gay rights, lesbian adoption, lesbian parental rights, lesbian rights, LGBT custody rights, LGBT family law, LGBT family law rights, same sex couples, same sex divorce, same sex marriage, same-sex parentsby Adam

Family Diplomacy’s managing attorney Adam B. Cordover gave a presentation on “The New Family: LGBTQ+ Issues & Family Law” at the 2015 Fall Conference of the Florida Court Professional Collaborative (FCPC) of the Twelfth Judicial Circuit. The title of the Conference was “2015 Trends in Family Law.”

Money Talk 1010 AM: Introducing Collaborative Divorce

September 26, 2015/0 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, Tampa Bay Collaborative Divorce, Tampa Bay Collaborative Family Lawby Adam

I recently had the opportunity to appear on the Let’s Talk Law radio program along with Licensed Mental Health Counselor Linda Peterman. We were introducing collaborative divorce to the Tampa Bay listeners of Money Talk 1010 AM and had a great conversation with host Roxanne Wilder.

Collaborative divorce is a private form of dispute resolution where each spouse retains an attorney. The attorneys only focus on negotiating an agreement, and they are contractually barred from engaging in contested court proceedings. All negotiations are had in a private conference room rather than the public courthouse.

A neutral facilitator, who generally is licensed in a field of mental health, oftentimes helps the spouses focus on what is most important (such as the welfare of the children) rather than the arguments of the past. A neutral financial professional, who has either a financial planning or accounting background, is frequently retained to efficiently ensure full financial transparency and aid the spouses to make the transition from married life to financially independent single life.

You can listen to the radio program, which was sponsored by Next Generation Divorce and aired on September 4, 2015 immediately after the Dave Ramsey Show, after the jump.

Florida Supreme Court Certifies Adam B. Cordover As Family Mediator

September 25, 2015/0 Comments/in Family Law News //Tags: collaborative mediation, mediationby Adam

Family Diplomacy managing attorney Adam B. Cordover has been certified by the Florida Supreme Court as a Family Mediator. Certification is reserved for those who meet the Florida Supreme Court’s qualifications, attend a 40-hour mediation course, and engage in observations and co-mediations for training purposes.