The Collaborative Family Law Process:
How It Works

This web page is an outline of the process of collaborative family law. To get a better idea of the expectations of behaviour in a collaborative law process, click in the cell at the right: Conduct and responsibilities of collaborative law participants

Starting the Collaborative Family Law Process

  1. Learn about collaborative family law, and decide if it is a process that suits your needs and circumstances
  2. Discuss collaborative family law with your spouse, and/or encourage your spouse to learn more about the collaborative family law process
  3. Meet with a lawyer who is trained in collaborative family law, and arrange for that lawyer to represent you
  4. Be sure your spouse finds a separate lawyer who will represent your spouse in the collaborative family law process
  5. Wait for your lawyer and your spouse's lawyer to arrange for a time that is suitable for the four of you, for a first "four-way meeting"
  6. At that first four-way meeting, sign the participation agreement, and start working toward a resolution of issues arising from the breakdown of your relationship

Working Collaboratively

  1. Your first four-way meeting will likely include the setting of an agenda for future meetings. At that first "four-way", you and your spouse will likely establish some of your concerns (and those of your spouse), to be discussed at future meetings.
  2. You will be expected to make full disclosure of your finances, and you should work with your lawyer to prepare proper disclosure of your finances, early in the collaborative process.
  3. You will have an opportunity to review your spouse's financial disclosure, with your lawyer, and with your spouse.
  4. There will be a series of further four-way meetings (typically, a half dozen or so), over a period of a few months (more or less), to deal with basic issues and to handle any particular concerns that might arise in the process.
  5. Any critical issues (e.g., interim support or access) might be resolved on a tentative basis, as the collaboration progresses.
  6. Areas of agreement will be recognized and documented, as the collaborative meetings progress.
  7. Minutes will be made of the meetings, and you will have an opportunity to discuss progress with your lawyer, during the periods between meetings.

Concluding the Collaborative Family Law Process

  1. Once all key issues from the separation have been settled, the lawyers will prepare a separation agreement (or, sometimes, another document, such as a consent order), to confirm the terms of the settlement; that agreement will be reviewed and approved by all parties, and will be signed by both parties.
  2. Other documents might also be necessary, to deal with the terms of the separation agreement (e.g., pension plan documents, property transfer documents); those documents will also have to be prepared, reviewed, approved, and signed.
  3. If there has been a marriage, then divorce documents will have to be prepared and filed at the court registry; there could be several different documents required for the divorce, including affidavits and information about your children and your finances; as the process should be settled by this point, those documents should be simple, to permit the divorce to proceed by consent.

Ongoing Issues and Concerns

  • Once an agreement is signed and/or a divorce order is granted, that might be all that is necessary. Sometimes, though, other issues will arise as you and your spouse go your separate ways (e.g., specific concerns about terms of access, or changes in circumstances). In those sorts of situations, you should look to your "collaborative team" for ongoing support, as they will be familiar with the circumstances of your separation, and they will have already established the communications skills necessary to ensure that you and your spouse are able to deal effectively with any new issues that might arise.
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