Vancouver Family Lawyer Discusses Collaborative Family Law

When separation, divorce or other serious family problems occur, many people assume that the problems must be resolved in court. From decisions on how to divide money and property, to choices on how parenting time is shared, to issues of grandparent visitation, people turn to the courts again and again when disputes arise.  While litigation is sometimes the best (or only) answer to resolving family matters, there is also another choice as well: collaborative family law.
Collaborative family law involves working together, rather than taking adversarial positions during a divorce, separation, or other serious family disagreement. Instead of going to court where there are winners and losers as parties argue opposing sides, spouses or other family members work with a third-party professional to find areas of compromise.  During this process, a Vancouver family lawyer can provide assistance in going through the collaborative process so you will understand your rights and make sure the outcome is fair to you and as favorable (or better) than the outcome you would have likely gotten had you resolved your issues in court.

Is Collaborative Family Law a Good Solution?

BC collaborative family law can be used in a wide variety of situations in family law matters. It is commonly used during the divorce process by couples who want to decide on issues related to:

• custody,
• spousal support and
• the division of assets on their own.

Instead of litigating these matters, the spouses involved in a divorce, separation, or custody dispute can communicate more openly and effectively with the help of a collaborative divorce coach or other third-party professional.  The goal is to find areas of agreement, to better communicate desires and goals and to otherwise find ways that compromise can be reached.

Collaborative family law can be an ideal solution if you want to save money on divorce or on a separation or custody dispute because the cost of working with a collaborative law professional to reach compromise can be less than the cost of litigating issues in court.  It is also an ideal situation when you want to keep a divorce or separation on friendly terms for the sake of children or extended family members.  Finally, if you are hopeful you will get an outcome that actually makes everyone involved happy, collaborative law is more likely to provide you with a positive outcome since the final agreement is one you will come up with on your own with guidance from the collaborative divorce coach.

You should be aware, however, that collaborative family law does not work in all situations. If either of the spouses or other parties involved in a disagreement are unwilling to reach a compromise, collaborative family law will not be effective because it requires active involvement from both partners.  Collaborative family law may also be an unwise choice in situations of domestic violence, where the victim could be coerced or intimidated and where ongoing contact with an abuser could be detrimental.

A family lawyer can help you determine if collaborative family law can work for you and can provide guidance throughout the resolution of your family law matter.

Call us at 604-974-9529 or email [email protected] to have a consultation and see if collaborative family law would work for you.