Collaborative Practice in family law is an approach to separation and divorce that empowers both parties to find solutions and develop a separation agreement that works for their family in their circumstances. The parties are supported by their individual uniquely trained legal counsel, while also supported jointly by family and financial professionals in a team approach. Occasionally other professionals are drawn in as needed. This solution-focused approach will not involve the courts, making the process more private, without the litigation and aggression of the traditional court litigation approach. It is solution-focused and does not include traditional adversarial strategies. The use and popularity of the Collaborative Practice approach to separation and divorce are growing continuously due to its successful results. It is in use in many countries around the world and is overseen by an international oversight body, the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals, IACP. In Canada, the Collaborative Professionals of Canada, and in Ontario, the Ontario Association of Collaborative Professionals oversee the standards, training, and ethics of its members, as well as the many local chapters, such as the York Collaborative Practice, of which I am a member.
Collaborative practice is premised on principles of cooperation, honesty, and integrity while the parties focus on their future well-being and their children’s needs. All separation issues of parenting, property settlement, support, and terms of the divorce are addressed and resolved, leading ultimately to a workable divorce. Meetings of all parties are used to understand issues including each other’s priorities and interests and make collaborative decisions that are driven primarily by the couple. Each professional involved in Collaborative Practice must receive specific training for the success of the process. Not every family lawyer is trained as a Collaborative Practitioner. Some Collaboratively trained lawyers also do traditional litigation divorce work, while others prefer to only practice in the Collaborative area due to its success and its much lower levels of conflict and aggression.
Despite the number of professionals involved, the overall process is normally shorter and less expensive to the couple than the traditional divorce litigation approach. Solutions can be often achieved in less than one year, allowing all parties to focus on their new lives. This Collaborative approach works best when both spouses are committed to working collaboratively to seek settlements that are fair and respectful to both parties and meet the needs of the children. It does not work if one party is only “after it all”.
As the financial professional in the Collaborative Practice setting, I work as a neutral professional to the couple. While I attend Collaborative Team meetings with the couple, I do much of my work offline from the lawyers to collect and assemble all relevant information about the family property, financial holdings, debts, incomes, and expenses of the parties. I immediately begin to assemble for consideration by the team a Net Family Property statement, complete with notes to focus the discussion and decisions. (Click for a sample NFP) I also calculate relevant ranges of child and spousal support where applicable, subject to much further discussion by the lawyers. Current and future income tax implications are carefully considered and included in developing solutions. In a traditional litigation approach, each party would do this work separately with their lawyers, duplicating time and expense, while then only having to argue over the data for accuracy and completeness, before getting to the phase of trying to find a consensus and solution.
As a collaborative trained financial professional, I help bring clarity to many of the difficult financial issues that may arise:
- Employee savings and bonus plans
- Pension plans and pension income
- Investments and stock options
- Prepaid life insurance
- Insurance settlements and disability income
- Retirement savings
- Matrimonial home and cottage and investment property
- Jewelry, art, and other collections
- Business incomes
- Debts and mortgages
- Taxes, deferred tax implications and capital gains
- Interest calculations
- Cost of living and time value of money
- Child and spousal support calculations
- Equalization of net family property
I know how to dig through your information to find what is relevant and bring it to both parties’ attention for resolution. I work with you to find financial solutions that are fair and work for both you and the children. Your lawyer is always there to advise you of your legal rights, obligations, and entitlements.
Click here for a short video by Collaborative Practice Ontario explaining the fundamentals of the Collaborative Process.
For more information on the Collaborative Process approach, please see the Ontario Association of Collaborative Professionals (OACP) at www.oacp.co. Collaborative Practice groups have been established in many parts of Ontario. I am currently a member of the Collaborative Practice of York Region.
