You may come to the Collaborative Divorce Process through a lawyer who you have consulted about difficulties you are having in your marriage or intimate partnership; or you may have consulted a counsellor to help you deal with issues surrounding the end of an intimate relationship.

In any event you are now considering how to proceed with winding up an intimate partnership under often very trying conditions. You are considering whether you wish to be involved in the Collaborative Separation and Divorce Process and are wondering just how the process works.

The following is a brief outline of how the interdiscipinary team comes into being and how it functions. If you would like a more detailed desciption of the roles of each of the team members refer to the Team Members section.


Introduction to the Collaborative Divorce Process

This section will deal with the technical aspects of the Collaborative Separation and Divorce Process; your introduction to the process; the involvement of the other party; the formation of the team; and the functioning of the team. If you would like to review the philosophy behind this process please see our Philosophy section.

Before the process actually begins you may meet with a lawyer or counsellor who will explain the process in more detail and will provide you with material for you to give your partner so they can explore the possibility of dealing with the conflict in a Collaborative manner.


The Initial Stages

"Forgiveness is the highest and most difficult of all moral lessons." Joseph Jacobs

Once the process has begun the parties, the lawyers and other members of the team which has been formed will meet to ascertain what conflicts need to be resolved and what issues need to be discussed. There will be as many meetings as are necessary to resolve the conflicts and reach an agreement. Between the meetings which include all members of the team individual members may speak with each other in an attempt to ensure that everyone understands all the complexities of the situation.