Keep control of your decisions in your own hands.
In traditional court processes, decision-making power often shifts away from the individuals involved. Collaborative Family Law seeks to help parties find solutions that meet their interests, allowing them to decide how to move forward with their lives.
At its core, Collaborative Family Law is an agreement between parties to resolve their issues and disputes without going to court. This approach significantly reduces the negative impacts of the litigation model on parties and their ongoing relationships. When used effectively, the Collaborative Family Law process allows individuals to retain more control over the decisions that affect their lives.
The Collaborative Law process requires full disclosure and follows the principles of interest-based negotiation. This method identifies the needs and interests of each party and generates options to help find mutually beneficial solutions.
Each party retains their own Registered Collaborative Family Lawyer. Collaboratively trained lawyers ensure that each person has an advocate, and that legal rights and obligations are considered. In the Collaborative process, the lawyer’s sole purpose is to assist both parties in arriving at a settlement that is custom-tailored to their needs.
In Alberta, as in other regions, lawyers practicing Collaborative Law are designated as Registered Collaborative Family Lawyers and are members of associations that set guidelines and training requirements. At our office, Jim Taylor is a Registered Collaborative Family Lawyer, ready to assist you in this process.