About Us

For couples who want to manage the loss of control over their divorce, the Collaborative Divorce Alberta Association members help divorcing and family law clients in Alberta to minimize the financial and emotional costs of divorce while still protecting their interests, including children, assets and businesses.

Collaborative Divorce is a respectful, efficient and secure alternative to divorce litigation or non-lawyer supported divorce franchises.  A divorce settlement reached through the Collaborative process is often called a “good divorce”.

Members of the Collaborative Divorce Alberta Association (CDAA) are highly trained Collaborative Divorce professionals helping divorcing couples to reach customized settlements through an out of court process that is both respectful and cost-effective.

Collaborative Divorce Alberta Association helps clients:

• Focus on the needs of the individual and their children
• Maintain control over decisions that will have a lifelong impact
• Seek to preserve family relationships, finances and assets

The Collaborative Divorce Alberta Association (CDAA) is a province-wide association which strives to advance the Collaborative Practice in Alberta. Each major region within the province has an established local practice group with its membership being Collaborative professionals practicing within that area. Each practice group has designated a member to sit on the Board of CDAA to ensure that its regional interests are being met.

CDAA at the provincial level has two purposes:

• We strive both to educate the public about the benefits of Collaborative Divorce
• To unify Collaborative professionals within Alberta

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Members of CDAA put the priorities of clients first and align around the following attributes:

Efficiency

Every step of Collaborative Divorce is designed to keep the case moving forward. Face-to-face negotiations are designed to spare couples from the back-and-forth between lawyers. Respectful exchanges maintain momentum instead of delaying and derailing the process with hostility in an adversarial process. And keeping the divorce out of court means it can be settled without using the time-consuming litigation steps. Collaborative Divorce seeks to minimize all costs, financial and emotional.  The Collaborative process is better for separating couples since it aims for a positive settlement for all parties.

Secure

A Collaborative Divorce assisted by a CDAA member always involves a trained Collaborative Divorce professional, this may include a divorce lawyer advocating realistically for his or her client, a neutral financial specialist and/or a mental health professional. The experience and knowledge of the two divorce lawyers and the collaborative team help the divorcing couple make sound decisions about their future and craft a durable and long-lasting settlement.

Personalized

Collaborative Divorce places the outcome of the divorce in the hands of the couple and their collaborative professionals, not a court official who often has no past experience in family law and dispute resolution. Because the parties maintain control over their decisions, they can exercise more creativity in their solutions that a court-imposed settlement might provide. Collaborative Divorce recognizes the unique circumstances of each couple and their children, rather than relying on a formulaic approach.

Constructive

Collaborative Divorce seeks to maximize and preserve assets rather than to expend them in a protracted and hostile process. A problem-solving approach is key to Collaborative Divorce, where the individuals and their collaborative professionals build separate futures from the available assets instead of destroying them.

Respectful

Respect is the foundation of Collaborative Divorce. It’s not only showing respect for one’s spouse, but it’s also showing respect to one’s self since individuals going through a divorce often devalue and blame themselves. In an atmosphere that encourages listening and empathy, negotiations are likely to proceed more smoothly and the process moves to a conclusion more quickly. Respectful attitudes and actions set the tone for children and pave the way for cooperative parenting in the future.

Private

Unlike a litigated divorce, all of the agreements and the information exchanged in Collaborative Divorce remain private. Only the individuals and their collaborative team members are privy to the terms of the settlement.