One of the most attractive aspects of collaborative law for many clients is the fact that it is conducted in private, with the exception of the uncontested final hearing. In the privacy of one of the lawyer’s or other professional’s offices, the clients can discuss sensitive issues that they might prefer not to air in the public arena of the courtroom; further, the neutral Mental Health Professional guides that discussion in a way that fosters constructive communication among all of the participants, including the attorneys. Another appealing aspect of collaborative law is its flexibility in scheduling. In traditional litigation, virtually nothing happens at the convenience of the clients. In collaborative law, the clients, their lawyers and the neutral professionals schedule everything cooperatively and thus avoid inconveniencing the other members of the collaborative team. In addition, the clients are not under pressure to dispose of their case according to the Court’s often arbitrary docket, which gives them the time to deal with the emotional aspects of the divorce, experiment with different parenting time schedules, sell a home, or do whatever else needs to be done before they finalize their divorce. But by far, the best reason to consider Collaborative Divorce is that you minimize the emotional impact on yourself and your children, preserve a positive relationship with your spouse, and move forward in the next phase of your life without all the anger, resentment and stress that traditional divorce inevitably generates. This is in stark contrast to the stressful nature of litigation, which engenders mistrust, hostility, animosity and long term resentment. High conflict divorces lead to high conflict post-divorce relationships. By eliminating the conflict and the stress that the litigation process itself inflicts on the parties, collaborative law allows the parties to begin healing from those conflicts and stresses that caused the breakdown of the relationship, without adding the toxic effect of litigation.

Section 61.13001, Florida Statutes (2006), titled “Parental relocation with a child,” establishes the procedures involved in the relocation of a child, whether relocation is sought after agreement between the parties or alternatively contested by one party. In the case of a contested relocation, the Legislature has stated that “[n]o presumption shall arise in favor of or against a request to relocate with the child when a primary residential parent seeks to move the child and the move will materially affect the current schedule of contact, access, and time-sharing with the nonrelocating parent or other person.” § 61.13001(7), Fla. Stat. (2006). Instead, section 61.13001(8) states:
The parent or other person wishing to relocate has the burden of proof if an objection is filed and must then initiate a proceeding seeking court permission for relocation. The initial burden is on the parent or person wishing to relocate to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that relocation is in the best interest of the child. If that burden of proof is met, the burden shifts to the non-relocating parent or other person to show by a preponderance of the evidence that the proposed relocation is not in the best interest of the child.
(MORE TO COME)

Child Support in Florida was made easy by the Florida Legislature. We have a statute (61.30) that outlines child support for us. Child support is determined by adding together your net income and your spouse’s net income, and depending on how many children you have, the legislature has already figured out for you how much you should spend to raise your children, given your net available income. Each spouse contributes a certain percentage to that “income pie”. Multiply your percentage by the amount the legislature has set as child support, and that tells you how much child support will be. Note: in alimony cases, alimony must be figured before child support, since the paying spouse affects both parties’ incomes, which must be determined before calculating child support.

In addition to baseline child support, there are calculations for health insurance and day care expense, if applicable. Those amounts are added to the base child support obligation or allocated between the parties. Each party is credited with the amounts that they pay on behalf of the other party, since only one parent pays for health insurance and for day care, although both are responsible for their percentage. Uncovered medical, dental, psychological and orthodontic bills and co-pays are also paid on some percentage basis (whether 50/50 or proportionate to your incomes). Special needs children are subject to additional consideration.

We are all familiar with the traditional divorce model. Spouses each hire lawyers, and begin a journey of litigation, aggravation, character assassination, and tense negotiation until the case is either settled or decided by a Judge. This system puts the two spouses completely at odds with one another. It causes enormous strain on the family, and children are often the pawns caught in the middle. The damage to the divorcing couple’s future relationship is irreparable. Often times, there is continuing litigation after the divorce.
A new model for divorce and family law has emerged and is fast-becoming the hottest trend in Florida. Collaborative law is a unique process where both clients hire separate attorneys whose only job is to help the clients settle their disputes. All participants agree to work together in a collaborative manner. They agree to be respectful and honest, and to participate in good faith to try to reach an agreement which meets both clients’ interests. If the case does not settle in the collaborative process, the lawyers must withdraw and cannot participate in court proceedings. This agreement that the lawyers will not go to court requires the lawyers and the clients to look at the resolution process differently. There is no posturing, threatening or deception. Everyone puts all their proverbial cards on the table……………..more to come!

The best alternative to litigation is Collaborative Family Law. Collaborative law is a unique process where both clients hire separate attorneys whose only job is to help the clients settle their disputes. All participants agree to work together in a collaborative manner. They agree to be respectful and honest, and to participate in good faith to try to reach an agreement which meets both clients’ interests. If the case does not settle in the collaborative process, the lawyers must withdraw and cannot participate in court proceedings. This agreement that the lawyers will not go to court requires the lawyers and the clients to look at the resolution process differently. There is no posturing, threatening or deception. Everyone puts all their proverbial cards on the table.

I attended the annual “Raising the Bar” Seminar hosted by the Family Law Section of the Broward County Bar Association on Friday. There were many presentations by many of the Family Law Judges and Magistrates of Broward County. We were reminded by Judge Renee Goldenberg that as Family Law attorneys, we need to take an active role in lowering the amount of conflict in family cases. High conflict divorce is traumatic for children. Lawyers who encourage their clients to maintain a high level of conflict are doing a disservice to the family, the community and the profession. Do yourself and your children a favor, and minimize the conflict. One of the best ways to accomplish that is to resist the urge to react. Remember the movie “WarGames”? The computer finally learned after playing tic-tac-toe and running all the different thermo-nuclear war scenarios that “the only way to win is not to play the game”. The only way to truly win in your divorce is to not get sucked into playing the divorce war game.

Collaborative Law is fast-becoming a popular model for divorcing couples in Florida. Begun in 1990 in Minnesota, Collaborative Family Law uses lawyers for both parties who work cooperatively together to help the couple resolve their issues without resorting to litigation.