collaborative law

Divorce is an area of family law that frequently delves into the sensitive foundation of the parties’ relationship. Some clients come in emotional, hurt, and raw, looking to determine the exact cause of their divorce. However, fault-based divorces are difficult to prove in and of themselves. Moreover, parties must prove that the alleged fault was the exact and only cause of the breakdown of the marriage. Even when the parties are convinced they can achieve a fault-ground divorce (like adultery), there are a number of traps and pitfalls for potential Petitioners. The defense of “recrimination” is one such example. As a practical matter, this defense is frequently conjoined with a cross-petition for a fault-ground divorce to help support this legal defense. In August of 2016,…

Collaborative divorce is an approach to problem resolution in the family law setting. In New Hampshire, parents are often required to discuss and agree on a “parenting plan” which encourages collaborative resolution. It is an alternative dispute resolution technique for resolving conflicts and reaching agreements using cooperation rather than adversarial techniques and litigation. It recognizes the value of an attorney, but avoids the involvement of the Court. The idea is that the parties will fully cooperate in the process. The result of the process is that the divorcing parties develop skills through the collaborative process that will assist them in addressing not only the issues common to divorce but also the inevitable issues that all parents confront as their children grow. The Collaborative process incorporates…

As couples with teenage children are considering divorce, one of the things to think about is the timing of the divorce. We have always considered the timing of divorce as this impacts the parties’ ability to file a joint income tax return. However, I had never considered how this might impact their children’s ability to get financial aid. I recently came across a post from Robert Bordett, a Certified Financial Planner and Certified Divorce Financial Analyst in Georgia, in which he shares some information he learned about the timing of divorce and its impact on financial aid. https://familyaffaires.com/co-parenting-work-together-divorce/. A collaborative divorce process allows the family to consider all factors associated with their divorce, including the timing. As Mr. Bordett explains, the timing of the divorce…

CNBC recently featured an article on collaborative law being applied in divorce cases. As the author, Deborah Nason, states, “Divorce will never be a walk in the park, but it doesn’t have to be a traumatic process, either.” She addresses the major problems that can be created by litigating a divorce to conclusion in Court. For a lot of people, the cost of a divorce is a major factor. According to the article, litigating a divorce can cost as much as three times or more than a collaborative divorce. As we have discussed in this blog before, Collaborative Divorce is a process that involves each party having their own lawyer. The agreement includes a clause in each party’s contract with the lawyer that if the…

Parnell, Michels & McKay has long championed the role of collaborative law in the divorce setting, and we offer one of the best and most experienced collaborative law divorce attorneys in the State of New Hampshire in Catherine McKay. However, the gains made in collaborative law in the family arena are being noticed by other attorneys who practice in the civil areas. Employment disputes, business disputes, probate disputes, and other areas of civil practice seem like potential great areas for collaborative law to continue to develop. Parnell, Michels & McKay supports the New Hampshire Collaborative Divorce (NHCD), and through that great organization, we have been introduced to potential new areas of law where collaborative practice can be utilized. In fact, the New Hampshire Bar Association…

In family law, litigation can have very negative effects on familial relationships. In a divorce, it causes parties to become entrenched in their positions, and they end up spending thousands upon thousands of dollars fighting in Court. Often, we have family law clients in divorce cases that don’t want to ratchet up the emotions by pursuing litigation and ask about alternative options that do not involve going to Court. The best option available is Collaborative Divorce. It is a process that removes a lot of the stress, time, and money spent on litigation. Instead, parties go through a series of meetings until the process is concluded with a final agreement. The first step is agreeing to do collaborative law in the first place. At Parnell,…