Generally

Collaborative Practice in its various permutations and hybrid formats is a principled, respectful way for couples to negotiate many types of agreements. Prior to proceeding, the professionals should first discuss alternative process options with the couple to help guide them in choosing the appropriate process. If the couple chooses Collaborative Practice, the following core principles must be honored:

• The couple must respect each other’s goals and priorities;
• The couple must provide full, open, voluntary, prompt and honest disclosure, and must update information as it changes whether asked to or not;
• The couple must engage in honest, good faith, interest-based negotiation;
• The couple will consider creating a multi-disciplinary team appropriate for their unique challenges;
• (If children): Parents must focus on their children’s best interests in a way that promotes a caring, loving and involved relationship between the children and each parent both now and in the future;
• All professionals will be disqualified if either of the parties resorts to adversarial proceedings (litigation)

In a Divorce Proceeding

When couples are engaging in a Collaborative Divorce Process, each of them is required to:

• Respect each other’s goals and priorities;
• Provide full, open, voluntary, prompt and honest disclosure, and to update information as it changes whether asked to or not;
• Engage in honest, good faith, interest-based discussions;
• Engage in a good faith discussion about the collaborative team and consider the use of all professional disciplines;
• Retain experts (such as appraisers, financial professionals, etc.) jointly unless they agree otherwise;
• Keep confidential all conversations, meetings and information exchanged during collaborative sessions and all communications and information exchanged as part of the collaborative process, which means that neither party can disclose or share such minutes, information or conversations, other than signed Judicial Council Forms or jointly signed agreements, if any, to a third-party decision maker, such as a judge;
• Authorize their own attorneys to withdraw from the process (and therefore to withdraw from representation) if the attorney becomes aware that his or her client is engaging in bad faith tactics or concealing relevant information, and the attorney has been unable to persuade his or her client to disclose the information or resume negotiating in good faith;
• Refrain from requesting the court’s assistance (or the assistance of any third-party decision-maker) understanding that such assistance terminates the collaborative process and disqualifies the attorneys and all other members of the team from further participation in the case;
• (If children): Focus on their children’s best interests in a way that promotes a caring, loving and involved relationship between the children and each parent both now and in the future.

You are invited to contact any of these professionals, all of whom would be pleased to answer your questions about Collaborative Practice and to help you decide if it is the right process for you. For more information about Collaborative Practice visit Collaborative Practice East Bay, opens in a new windowCollaborative Practice San Francisco or Collaborative Practice Marin and Sonoma