Collaborative Law: A Brief History and Overview

Florida’s Collaborative Law Process Act came to be in 2016, but the original concept for Collaborative Law came from Minnesota by an Attorney named Stuart Webb in 1990. He realized the importance of personal relationships in the legal process. Attorney Webb believed the litigation process could be harmful to spouses and families.

Did you know, our very own Attorney Matt Capstraw contributed to the Collaborative Law Process Act in Florida? For more on his involvement, check out Attorney Capstraw’s profile HERE.

According to Florida Statute 61, the purpose of Collaborative Law in Florida is “to preserve the integrity of marriage and to safeguard meaningful family relationships, promote the amicable settlement of disputes that arise between parties to a marriage, and mitigate the potential harm to the spouses and their children caused by the process of legal dissolution of marriage.”

While traditional litigation and mediation involve two Family Law Attorneys who act as opposing counsel in a Divorce, the Collaborative Process utilizes a Team to help resolve the case in a peaceful and productive manner. Benefits of the Collaborative Law Process include but are not limited to: Goal centered and solution-oriented meetings as well as the opportunity to protect minor children from the Divorce process.

Who makes up a Collaborative Team?

Family Law Attorneys: Unlike the litigation or mediation processes, in a Collaborative divorce, the Orlando Family Law Attorneys work together in order to assist both spouses reach an amicable and peaceful resolution.

Mental Health Counselor: In a Collaborative setting, the Mental Health Neutral serves as the facilitator. He or she will facilitate the Collaborative meetings and make sure common goals of both spouses remain top of mind among the Team during the case.

Financial Professional: To preserve the privacy of the spouses and their family, the Financial Neutral maintains the financial affidavits of both parties, rather than the parties filing the document as part of public records. Any amounts relating to Alimony are also kept private in a Collaborative case.

In some cases, especially in situations where the parties are in need of additional assistance, the Collaborative Team is able to bring in Allied Professionals as well.

Potential Allied Professionals

Realtors: Collaboratively trained Real Estate professionals are able to assist in the valuation of the marital home, determine potential rental costs, etc.

Florida Ethics Rules require all Divorce Attorneys to present Collaborative Law as an option to potential Family Law Clients during the initial consultation. However, not all Family Law Attorneys have Collaborative experience or training.

All of our Orlando Lawyers at The Marks Law Firm, P.A. – Family Law & Divorce Attorneys are Collaboratively trained and are active members of The Collaborative Family Law Group of Central Florida. Our Team recognizes the true value of this process.

Watch our YouTube Video HERE.

Listen to our Podcast HERE.

It is our Mission: “To Honor God and Faithfully Represent our Clients with Great Leadership, Attitude, Excellence and Teamwork.”

To learn more about the Collaborative Process, call our office at (407) 872-3161.

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