When Can My Children Decide Where They Live?
I was at a social event the other night when someone overheard me say Collaborative Divorce. I was met with inquisitive facial expressions. Divorce lawyers? Collaborating? What is this Collaborative Divorce stuff? It seems the idea of divorce lawyers working together was quite amusing to them. The Collaborative Divorce process began in the United States by a lawyer by the name of Stuart Webb that was burned out and tired of fighting the fight. He and many others had long recognized that courtrooms were not the best place for families to resolve their disputes. The long, costly and agonizing process of divorce had taken its toll, not only on the families going through a divorce but on the lawyers representing them as well. So Steve developed an approach that has gained momentum across the United States, Europe, Australia and Canada. The Association of Collaborative Lawyers of Alberta defines Collaborative Divorce as: “A respectful process for resolving conflict with the help of specially trained lawyers and other professionals, without going to court. Each spouse is represented by his or her own lawyer from start to finish, with the additional support of mental health and financial professionals as...