January, 2015
Dear Friends and Colleagues:
Welcome to my Winter Newsletter. It is well known that January is the busiest time for divorces! Reasons can include: It's your New Year's Resolution or, You want to get through the holidays before making your move.
The process that one chooses to divorce in is a critical first choice to make. In this regard make sure that when you have your first consultation with a lawyer you request that they go over the many process options in which to separate.
A key peaceful process in which to divorce is the Collaborative Process. In this process the two clients and their two lawyers work together, as a four-way team, to resolve all issues in the breakdown of the marriage. This is in direct contrast to the traditional adversarial process or Court process, where there is no team effort but rather it's adversarial in its approach.
This team process is a revolutionary departure from the traditional adversarial process. In the collaborative process the team considers not only the law but also the wants, needs and interests of the parties. Resolving all disputes respectfully and positively is key. As well, the participants - the clients and their lawyers - approach their work as the construction of a new and positive reality for each of the parties and their children.
The lawyers who practise collaborative process (myself included) have taken special training do this work and are listed on the web site of Collaborative Practice Toronto (CPT).
I urge you to read more about this exciting new process (actually it's 20 years old but new relative to the centuries-old traditional adversarial legal model) on the CPT website and the website of the International Association of Collaborative Practitioners (IACP).
Until next time!
www.annefreed.com