Collaborative family law: avoiding the messy divorce. (Law).

It is unfortunate when marriages or relationships break down and couples part ways. There is often a significant cost to the break down of that relationship, financially and emotionally. We have all heard stories of bitter, ugly divorces and some of the unbelievable antics that go on between two people who were once involved in a loving relationship. Divorce can be messy--but a group of Saskatchewan lawyers have found a process to help people avoid the messy divorce. It's called collaborative family law.

Collaborative family law takes people out of the adversarial court process, where former spouses battle one another and a judge determines the "winner" Collaborative law puts them in a process where they and their lawyers work together to find resolutions for their individual problems.

The process works like this: Each party selects their own collaborative lawyer. Both parties and their lawyers sign a contract. The contract states that all four parties will not go to court or use threats of going to court to resolve the dispute. The parties also agree that if the process fails, both lawyers (and anyone else in their firm) must withdraw and the parties must find new lawyers to start the court process. What follows the signing of the contract is a number of four-way meetings where the parties and their lawyers work towards identifying the issues between the parties, generating options and ultimately solving the problems.

This process may not be for everyone. Each person must be committed to be truthful and respectful. That can be difficult when the relationship has broken down over deceitful or disrespectful behavior. Even in some of the bitterest of divorces, however, trust can be built when each party has made a commitment to the process and demonstrates the desire to reach a fair and comprehensive settlement in the four-way meetings.

Collaborative family law is premised on a commitment to disclose fully all relevant information. To back up the requirement of full disclosure, the contract which everyone signed requires that both lawyers must withdraw from the process if either lawyer learns that a spouse is withholding or misrepresenting information. Quite simply the process will not continue if either party fails to proceed respectfully, truthfully and in good faith.

The process is attractive to separating spouses for a number of reasons. The parties are in control of the decision making. They typically spend less time and money resolving their issues (the average collaborative family file resolves in two to six months while one in the court process may take more than two years). The process also reduces the emotional cost to the parties as they will work together instead of against one another.

Collaborative family law is steadily growing. There are now collaborative law practitioners and organizations in many states and provinces--with Saskatchewan joining the list last fall.

The introduction of collaborative family law to Saskatchewan is coming at a great time. It has been recognized that many separating couples are getting into court too quickly, without much consideration of the impact of litigation on themselves or their families. Separating spouses are also becoming more aware of the huge emotional and financial costs on them and their children in a messy divorce. They want to find a positive way to resolve their issues, they want to be respected and perhaps most importantly they want to make the best decisions for themselves and their families. The collaborative process provides them with the means.

No one is happy at the end of a relationship, but at the conclusion of the collaborative law process both parties can be satisfied. Oddly enough, the parties who reach an agreement often want to mark the occasion with a celebration together. Have you ever heard of both sides in a trial sitting down to celebrate its conclusion?

For more information about the collaborative law process in Saskatchewan contact the Collaborative Lawyers of Saskatchewan Inc. at 1-866-347-8545 or visit www.collabsask.com or www.collaborativelaw.ca

Marilyn Penner is a lawyer with Wallace Meschishnick Clackson Zawada in Saskaroan. Questions on this article can be sent to her at [e-mail]