Collaborative Law

Collaborative law is an alternative to using the adversarial court system.  Each party to a collaborative law case hires an attorney who has been trained collaboratively.  The parties, through help of their counsel, select and jointly hire a neutral financial professional and a neutral facilitator. 

The parties work with the neutral financial professional to identify and value all of their assets and liabilities.  When alimony and child support are at issue, the financial professional will also help the parties in identifying and calculating their income and relevant expenses.  With this information, the parties, their counsel, and the financial professional develop options for possible outcomes and the parties then make an informed decision about what option will work best for their unique situation.

The neutral facilitator is responsible for the scheduling and leading of meetings between the professionals and the collaborative team.  When the case involves children, the neutral facilitator will work with the parties to develop options for preparing their parenting plan which will then be sent to the attorneys to discuss with their respective clients.  The parties then make an informed decision about the parenting plan that best meets their family’s unique needs.

The professionals and parties involved in a collaborative law case are focused on problem-solving and not adversarial advocacy of their positions. 

For a list of Frequently Asked Questions and answers on the Collaborative Divorce Process, check out THIS WEBSITE. 

Belinda Lazzara, Esq., BCS is collaboratively trained and is an experienced collaborative divorce professional.