Facts About Collaborative Family Law Calgary

By Ann Allen


For individuals who are facing divorce or other problems in their marriage, a good option for solution is collaborative family law. Those involved try their level best to get to a solution with the help of an attorney. In some cases, you will also need to have a financial adviser and mental health expert. There are never any court cases with this form of resolution. When considering collaborative family law Calgary residents should know what is involved.

In the first lace, the laws were established to help only in case of divorce. In order to be a success, those involved need to be participants in he process. There will be no success if either party is not willing to genuinely be part of it or if they are already adversarial. All those involved also need to fully comply with terms of the resolution. This is crucial if any meaningful ground is to be covered.

In the event that there are kids involved, an important aspect of the contract is that children will be left out of the dispute. There should also be maintaining of stable home environment as the resolution is done. The attorney during this process is not to litigate or defend their clients. Both parties will need to agree to participate in the process. Both parties are supposed to have their attorney. The attorneys help clients to figure issues regarding child custody, splitting marital assets and child support.

In collaborative processes, professional counselors will need to be consulted. Whenever the parties are trying to sort out emotionally charged disputes, a counselor will come in handy. When situations like that arise, they will assist both parties in dealing with a range of emotions. The counselor is also able to assist couples in developing coping skills and how to effectively communicate with each other. This is useful because parties want to remain friends, more so if kids are involved.

The attorneys will first need to meet their clients to discuss what the process entails and all the agenda. At the same time, the two attorneys will need to consult each other to reach an agreement on what should be discussed in the first session. For the meeting, all those that are involved need to be present so that rules are laid down. The rules are what govern subsequent sessions.

There is signing of a contract which is binding to both parties. After that is done, they will make a decision on what the next step should be and the need to schedule subsequent meetings for further discussions. If there are any binding issues that affect the negotiations, they need to be discussed when all parties are present and agreed upon. Respect, trust, honesty and commitment are key to the process.

In case for a reason or the other the process breaks down, all the discussions that you had will be considered confidential. They cannot be referred to in court processes or for future negotiations. It is a fundamental principle. However, majority of cases tend to be successful and thus planning for failure never comes in.

In case there is success in the resolution, there will be preparation of a binding separation agreement by the attorney. It is a reflection of all issues that were agreed upon. The document is signed by both parties.




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