COLLABORATIVE DIVORCE LAWYER IN WOLLONGONG

In collaborative law, the clients and their lawyers agree to co-operate and work together to create fair outcomes for their financial or parenting disputes without involving the court. This process is not suitable if the client’s case is already in court. At Kells, our experienced family lawyers are well-versed in matters related to collaborative law.

Clients involved in a collaborative law case can choose to involve other professionals such as child psychologists, counsellors, accountants and financial planners who bring their expertise and guidance to the case. The lawyers focus on helping the clients negotiate and achieve a settlement of their dispute that is fair and takes into account what the clients wish to concentrate on.

Collaborative law allows the client to retain control of the decision-making process after a separation. A judge does not decide their case. What is important to clients and their family is the focus of the collaborative law case.

If clients cannot reach an agreement and a court case is required, clients must appoint new lawyers as the collaborative lawyers will not be able to continue to act for them.

The collaborative law process is focused on minimising the conflict in a separation by working towards an arrangement that suits the clients. The aim is to achieve a better working relationship between the couple after separation, particularly if there are children involved and future communication is required between the couple.

Collaborative law allows clients to deal with their separation issues in a way that suits their family and circumstances. The process is aimed at avoiding a court case and reducing emotional and financial stress.

The client and their former partner must each retain a lawyer trained in collaborative law to advise in their case.

The clients and their lawyers must each sign a participation agreement/contract setting out the rules and terms for the collaborative process. Importantly, if either party commences court proceedings, each client will need to retain new lawyers in the court case. At all times, the collaborative law process is about keeping the clients out of court, and this is achieved by arranging “face-to-face” meetings.

The lawyers and the clients all take part in the negotiations at meetings, at a venue of their choice, not at court. By being involved in all of the meetings, the clients keep control of the negotiations and communications, not the lawyers. Once an agreement is reached, the lawyers document the settlement agreement, which can then be filed with the court for orders to be made. That agreement then becomes binding on the clients.

It is crucial to the process that clients must use specially trained collaborative lawyers who understand what is involved in the collaborative law process.

At Kells, our collaborative lawyers in Wollongong are trained in this process and meet regularly with other local lawyers to ensure that this service is professionally applied to our clients.