Service Details

Family Law: Collaborative Law

Helping Clients Navigate the Life Changing Event of Divorce

We understand that the end of a marriage can be a difficult experience and can change your life significantly. We believe that it is important for our clients to navigate the process of a divorce in a way that is comfortable for them. While many couples often choose the traditional methods, we feel it is important to also offer our clients an alternative method for divorcing.

Providing Clients with Alternatives to Traditional Divorce

We provide expert counsel for a traditional divorce but have the training required to provide our clients with Collaborative Divorce services. Collaborative Law a family-centered dispute resolution process that is an alternative to the traditional court-based litigation process. Just like traditional methods, Collaborative Law is also available to help couples and families deal with other issues related to divorce like child custody and support.

Principles of Collaborative Law

• The parties and their attorneys commit to finding a goal-oriented, constructive solution that meets the needs of both parties.
• The parties and their attorneys openly exchange all necessary financial information including documents.
• The parties and their attorneys meet in a series of 4-way meetings to discuss issues and craft solutions.
• The process is cooperative, constructive and respectful and emphasizes communication and teamwork between the parties and their lawyers.

Flexible Solutions to Meet the Needs of our Clients

Collaborative Law gives couples the freedom to customize their divorce, instead of relying on the traditional principles of court to divide marital assets. At the core of Collaborative Law is a promise by both parties to reach a resolution that meets the needs of both spouses. The collaborative model is based on mutual respect and allows parties to resolve issues related to the dissolution of their marriage without going to court, while still benefiting from the expertise of a trained attorney.

Recent Updates & Recommended Articles from the Lancaster Law Blog:

•  Family Law Section Approves Proposed Collaborative Law Act
  • Recently, the Family Law Section of the Pennsylvania Bar Association supported the enactment of a Collaborative Law Act in Pennsylvania. This is an important step forward for the collaborative process and demonstrates that legal professionals recognize the growing popularity of collaborative law among the general public.  In addition, support from the Family Law section of the PBA reflects other attorneys’ approval of collaborative law as an alternative process to traditional methods of conflict resolution in divorce.
• Can There Really be Such a Thing as “Conscious Uncoupling” 
  • The term and idea of the “uncoupling” of married people is one that I have heard used in collaborative divorce cases.  In my experience, many people are drawn to collaborative law because they desire to end their marriage and resolve their economic issues in a process and a timeframe that they control together. Generally, they value what’s left of their relationship with their spouse, namely the joint parenting of children and often, that reason is their primary factor in selecting collaboratively-trained counsel to assist with the divorce.
• Collaborative Law: An Alternative Method to Resolve Divorce, Custody and Support
  • To date, Collaborative Law is still a relatively new option for Lancaster County residents to pursue. It is my hope that by educating clients and other professionals including, attorneys, financial experts and family therapists, Collaborative Law will offer an additional option clients can utilize to reach constructive agreements about the dissolution of their marriage.