Whether a divorce or separation is being contemplated; or whether the process of separation or divorce is already progressing; the Collaborative Divorce Process may be able to assist you in resolving the issues with much less acrimony and bitterness.


What is it

"The willingness to take risks is our grasp of faith." George Woodberry

Collaborative Divorce is a new, interdisciplinary, team process that is developing to assist, in the resolution of conflict arising out of divorce, separation, child custody & access disputes, disagreements around spousal and child support or maintenance, and the division of family assets and debts.

In this process the parties and their lawyers work together collaboratively using non-adversarial techniques and cooperative strategies to negotiate a fair settlement without resort to costly litigation and other adversarial processes.


A New View

"No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of it to anyone else." Charles Dickens

This process requires us to view conflict and its resolution in a different light than we might presently view it and calls for entirely different procedures than the adversarial approach to conflict resolution. To act collaboratively requires a paradigm shift or a change in attitude for everyone involved (the parties, their lawyers, and the coaches). This shift is discussed in detail in a later section of this site.

This collaborative method has proven effective for over 10 years in the United States. It was begun in 1990 in Minnesota when Stuart Webb and a group of Minneapolis Lawyers formed a group known as the Collaborative Law Institute. Since then, several Collaborative groups, such as the Collaborative Divorce Training Institute, have become active in California, and other groups are forming throughout the USA and Canada.

There is a group of Collaborative Divorce practitioners in Vancouver of which we are members.