Alternative Dispute Resolution Lawyers

Learn when an alternative dispute resolution may be right for you

To those couples who are facing divorce but would like to avoid having the court make decisions regarding their finances and children: there are other options.

One such option is an alternative dispute resolution called the collaborative process. In the collaborative process, a couple and their individual attorneys sign an agreement promising to take a reasoned approach to negotiate an agreement settling all issues of their marriage without the involvement of the court. The attorneys agree in advance that if they cannot reach an agreement, both will withdraw from the case. The purpose of such a promise is to create a financial incentive for the attorneys to avoid litigation. Once an agreement is reached, it will be filed with the Court in a dissolution proceeding and adopted by the Court, thereby becoming a final Order.

Alternatively, the dissolution process involves negotiating the terms of the termination of a marriage without the collaborative agreement. One advantage of not having the collaborative agreement is that if negotiations fall through, a party does not need to seek alternative counsel to file for divorce.