• Areas of Practice
• Family Law
• Introduction
• The Use of an Attorney For Family Law Matters
• Counseling In A Divorce
• What Is Collaborative Divorce?
• What if my Spouse is Abusing or Harassing Me?
• Custody and Physical Placement
• Child Support
• Maintenance
• Property Division
• Estate Planning, Trust Administration, and Probate
• Elder Law and Medicaid Planning
• Business Law
• Litigation

What Is Collaborative Divorce

• It is a method of handling divorce cases designed to lead to settlement with a minimum of acrimony between the parties.
• It is voluntary on all parts. Both parties and both attorneys must agree, in writing, to use collaborative divorce. Certain cases or certain clients may not be appropriate for use of Collaborative divorce.
• The key to Collaborative Divorce is that the parties and their attorneys must agree at the outset that the case will be settled, not contested. If the case cannot be settled, both attorneys must withdraw. It is anticipated that withdrawal will be a very rare event, as most cases settle anyway and the additional aspect of mandatory withdrawal will make contests even more rare.
• A Collaborative Divorce contains the following elements:
• No contested court hearings. Even temporary arrangements will be negotiated.
• Both sides must make full and complete disclosure and fully cooperate with all reasonable discovery requests on an informal basis.
• No formal discovery.
• No "attack" letters, threats or intimidation.
• No unilateral appraisals. All appraisals will be joint.
• Advantages of Collaborative Divorce:
• It will allow people to have professional representation and advice without the fear that lawyers will throw gasoline on the fire.
• It will avoid the unnecessary costs to parties that are incurred by trial preparation when the case is continually adjourned or settled short of trial.
• It will avoid the emotional costs incurred by the fear and threats of going to trial.
• It will force the parties and their attorney to concentrate on problem solving.
• It will be conducive to a more cordial future relationship of people who have children in common and therefore will have a relationship after the legal case goes away.

Collaborative Divorce is a relatively new concept in the State of Wisconsin, and it can be a very positive alternative in the right circumstances. If you would like to explore the possibility of pursuing a collaborative divorce, one of our family law attorneys can discuss the process with you further.