Free Information Kit

Discover if the collaborative model is right for you.

Download your free Collaborative Divorce Knowledge Kit. This kit answers many of the common questions about Collaborative Practice. You’ll learn about real families — families like yours — who used the Collaborative model, and see how it benefited them.

To find out more, click here to download your kit.

The Collaborative Divorce Knowledge Kit (1.71MB) is in PDF format. If you do not have Adobe’s free PDF reader on your computer, you can download it here.

"If all divorcing couples used the Collaborative Practice process, the world would be a better place

- Lauren M., Brooklyn, NY

INTRODUCTION

Thank you for downloading the 12 page Collaborative Practice Knowledge Kit. which contains:

• The collaborative Divorce vs. Litigation Divorce comparison
• Case Studies that highlight the flexible, solution-oriented process of Collaborative Divorce
• Collaborative Practice overview

If you feel this information would be helpful to a friend or family member we encourage you to freely distribute it.

If you would like to speak with a Collaborative Professional in your area, you can use the Collaborative Professional Locator on our website at: CollaborativePractice.com.

COLLABORATIVE PRACTICE INTRODUCTION

Collaborative Practice is a new way for you to resolve disputes respectfully-without going to court-while working with trained professionals who are important to al) areas of your life. The term incorporates al) of the models developed since IACP's Minnesota lawyer Stu Webb created Collaborative Law ideas in the 1980s.

The heart of Collaborative Practice is to offer you and your spouse or partner the support, protection, and guidance of your own lawyers without going to court. Additionally, Collaborative Practice allows you the benefit of child and financial specialists, divorce coaches and other professionals all working together on your team.

In Collaborative Practice, core elements form your contractual commitments, which are to:

•  Negotiate a mutually acceptable settlement without having courts decide issues
• Maintain open communication and information sharing
• Create shared solutions acknowledging the highest priorities of all

The International Academy of Collaborative Professionals (IACP) is a worldwide nonprofit organization dedicated to transforming the practice of dispute resolution.

Our mission: to serve our members, lead the collaborative community and educated the public. We are committed to fostering professional excellence in conflict resolution through Collaborative Practice.

We do this by protecting the essentials of Collaborative Practice, expanding Collaborative Practice worldwide and providing a central resource for education, networking and standards of practice

Cost

Collaborative Divorce Case Study Summaries

Demonstrating flexible solutions ... allowing you to control your future

1. A music executive and his financially dependent wife had a 5-year old daughter. The wife had a new boyfriend and was pregnant with his child. Collaborative Practice (CP) helped the divorcing couple agree to a very technical financial arrangement and addressed the daughter's contact with her mother's boyfriend.
2. Years ago, the husband's first wife disappeared, leaving him with two children. His current wife was the only mother the children knew. And, she couldn't have children cl her own. A typical court might grant her no parental rights after the divorce. CP ensured she stayed active in the children's lives.
3. A husband and wife, both ministers with four kids, lived together in the same house with the husband's secret partner. The partner later exposed their relationship. Despite the acute trauma felt by the wife and children, CP restored the relationship between all three adults and the children.
4. A husband and wife had two children, one a special needs child. During the divorce, this child's long term care requirements caused tremendous financial conflict between the parents. CP kept them focused on the discussion until they reached an agreement The parents also agreed to work together after the divorce, assuring both children receive the care and support they needed.
5. Years after a rough legal battle, the divorced couple decided to modify their originally litigated divorce settlement. CP allowed them to do this so amicably that the ex husband offered to help his former wife out of a financial rough spot.
6. When the couple's daughter left for college, the wife announced she wanted a divorce after 30 years of marriage. The wife never worked outside of the home. She did not want to take advantage of the husband's wealth, and wanted the divorce to move quickly to spare her husband further pain. CP helped her maintain peace and integrity during the process. She felt spiritually liberated by the model's ability to separate without regrets.
7. When the couple used CP to end a 16-year marriage, their team included lawyers, a child psychologist and a financial specialist. Their team guided them to a fair financial arrangement for the children by helping them keep everyone's needs in perspective. Years after the divorce, the couple still calls each other every week to update one another on the children's past week.
8. A couple who had once been childhood sweethearts could no longer talk to each other without yelling through fits of anger, especially when discussing living arrangements of their five-year old son. Through CP, the couple learned to communicate with each other and agreed to shared custody and joint monitoring of any funds spent on their son.
9.  The wife initiated a divorce feeling ignored and misunderstood by the family for years. The CP team helped establish a Jess hostile environment to proceed with the divorce. Then they facilitated communication between the couple. In the end, the couple decided to stay together, working out their
   issues through counseling.