Collaborative Law – Collaborative Divorce Lawyer

Having practiced divorce law for 25+ years and Collaborative Divorce for over 15 years, I’m still often asked, What is Collaborative Divorce?  In short, The Collaborative Process is an out-of-court conflict resolution process in which the participants focus their efforts on reaching a mutually acceptable resolution.

My basic underlying theory of the “right way” to handle a divorce is closely aligned to the collaborative process.  I believe that the vast majority of cases should be worked out between the parties and not have to proceed to court for a judge to decide your future.

• It seems incongruent to allow a stranger (i.e. judge or magistrate) to make a decision on who and how you should raise your children.
• It should take at least one unreasonable party to not believe that the 2 parties, together with learned legal counsel, should not be able to equitably/equally divide assets and debts without the necessity of a referee/judge.

The collaborative process removes that barrier and allows the parties to make their own decisions on what is fair, equitable and in the best interest of their children. In many cases the parties also agree to involve other professionals to assist in obtaining all information necessary to make decisions.  Those professionals may include:

1. Family specialists to work with the parties regarding improved communication or concerns for the child(ren).
2. Financial specialists to work with one or both parties to educated on family financial picture, discuss and establish budgets, and advise on investments and strategy.
3. Other experts.  The attorneys who practice have a network of other professionals including bankers, mortgage brokers, real estate appraisers and realtors, and business valuation experts.  Many times the parties can agree on one expert as opposed to hiring multiple experts to provide a biased view.

If you are interested in a better way to divorce, contact a Collaboratively trained attorney to discuss your options. For consultation in Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati, contact Micahel Bouldin at [email protected] or call 859-581-6453 (581-MIKE).