How to Create a Strong Collaborative Divorce Team

So what exactly does a solid collaborative team look like? First, teams are all different.  A strong one allows you to harness a broad and diverse range of skills, insights, and creativity. This helps ensure that you cover all areas — legal, financial, and emotional — as you focus on problem-solving together.

Your team will be assembled according to what you need, but members typically include the professionals listed below.

Read: What Is Collaborative Divorce?

Who Are the Players in a Collaborative Divorce Team?

Attorneys Trained in Collaborative Divorce

Collaborative divorce teams include two attorneys, one for you and one for your spouse. In every divorce, you want to ensure that you work with an experienced divorce and family law attorney.  Therefore, when you and your spouse select collaborative divorce, you must also both select collaboratively trained attorneys.

Because the attorneys have been hired to reach a fair and acceptable agreement and not “win” a case, the negotiations are quite different than those in a litigated divorce. Both sides will work together to create a positive, trust-driven atmosphere focused on reaching a resolution instead of winning a courtroom battle.

Read: ADR & Divorce

Read: Settlement & Divorce

Financial Professional & Your Collaborative Divorce Team

A neutral financial specialist trained in collaborative divorce helps educate you and your attorney about your financial situation. After compiling and analyzing financial data, the financial advisor prepares financial affidavits and budgets, creates projections, and identifies tax considerations so that you can determine in advance what future financial needs are covered.

Depending on your assets, you may also need some discreet assistance from additional experts.  For example, a real estate appraiser can assist if you and your spouse own a lot of real estate together.  Or, a valuation expert can help you both understand the value of your business.

Read: What Role Does a Financial Expert Play in a Connecticut Collaborative Divorce?

Divorce Coach

Divorce coaches are an important part of the collaborative law process. They are mental health professionals who act as mentors and help manage the divorce process’s practical and emotional aspects. If you have children, divorce coaches can work with both parents to develop a parenting plan and cultivate vital co-parenting skills. A good collaborative divorce coach is 100% dedicated to providing you with helpful coping skills that make this transition in your life easy to manage.

Read: Using EAR Statements to Solve Problems With Your Ex During Divorce

Child Specialist

Child specialists represent your children’s perspective. They have a solid background in child development, especially where children of divorce are concerned, and use their understanding and insights to help you and your spouse make the best co-parenting decisions. This way, the transitions associated with divorce are less stressful for your children. In Connecticut, it is prevalent for the Divorce Coach to also serve in the Child Specialist role.

Collaborative divorce is a group process, so everyone on your team will reach out to each other to ensure everything is appropriately coordinated. Your team may not necessarily consist of all the professionals covered here, but knowing your options allows you to choose the support you need.

Read: How Can a Collaborative Divorce Benefit Your Children?

Next Steps

Suppose you and your spouse are willing to work together on your divorce. In that case, the collaborative route will help you complete all necessary negotiations and agreements respectfully and positively.  Again, your collaborative divorce team can assist you in getting there.

If you would like to learn more about the different ways to divorce in Connecticut — collaborative divorce, mediation, and litigation —click here to watch our Founding Attorney Meghan Freed’s full presentation on Choosing Your Approach to Divorce.

At Freed Marcroft, we have helped hundreds of people move forward to a better life and make informed choices about their divorce options. At our first step, the Goals & Planning Conference, we start by working through these questions with you to help you figure out your goals. If you decide that divorce is part of what you must do to reach your desired future, we can help you. If it isn’t, we will support you and help you figure out what you need to get you there instead.

Let’s keep you moving forward. Contact us here.