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Divorcing? Think Collaborative

Why Collaborative Divorce?

Ending a marriage or relationship is hard

Collaborative Divorce helps you divorce without going to court. Instead of enemies, you and your soon-to-be-ex become members of a team designed to:

help "uncouple" your relationship

help your children understand the changes in their lives

be the children's voice in the parenting plan

help you make the best possible financial decisions

What is Collaborative

What is Collaborative Divorce?

Collaborative Divorce (also called “no-court divorce,” or “peaceful divorce”) offers you and your spouse or partner the support, protection, and guidance from your own lawyers without going to court. Collaborative Divorce allows you the benefit of child, family, and financial specialists, divorce coaches and other professionals all working together on your team.

In this process, everyone agrees to:

Negotiate a mutually acceptable settlement without having the courts decide issues

Maintain open communication and information sharing

Create shared solutions based on priorities

Negotiate in good faith

Make decisions about the children based on their best interests

Is it for Me

Is Collaborative Right for Me?

People who found Collaborative Divorce useful wanted these things from their divorce or dispute:

A better outcome

A process that focused on their concerns

Less conflict and confrontation

A more respectful process

More control over the outcome

A less stressful process

Professionals who would work more as a team to help clients solve problems

A process that provided enough time to address all concerns

A process better suited to the client

What clients are saying:

"I chose Collaborative Family Law because I wanted a respectful process. We were able to maintain control of the outcome, rather than accepting the terms of an imposed order. We also realized significant savings by avoiding litigation."

--Jerry, married 27 years.

"Divorce is difficult, but I never regretted choosing the collaborative process. Guided by my attorney and mental health coach, I was able to make my own decisions about my future and asset division at a pace that was comfortable for me."

--Carrie, married 25-years and mother of two children

Approaching our situation collaboratively ensured the kind of cooperation we'll need as we raise our kids into adulthood."

--Laura, married 10 years and mother of three

The Team

What is the Collaborative Team?

A collaborative team provides you with a group of professionals trained to help you make decisions, process emotions, and assure that the solutions you create are best for you, your children, and your future.

Your team is composed of:

you and your soon-to-be-ex

your attorneys

and may also include

a divorce coach

child or family specialist

financial specialist.

Who to include on the team is determined by the needs of you and your family and you decide in consultation with your attorney who to include.

Click on the Attorneys, Coach, Child and Family Specialist, and Financial Specialist pages for more information and professionals in our group who can help you.

Attorneys

Collaborative Attorneys

COLLABORATIVE ATTORNEYS work together as advocates for their clients to reach an amicable and comprehensive resolution of conflicts without going to court. Our attorneys include:

Nicole Bolan

4717 S. 19th St. #109

Tacoma, WA 98405

(253) 272-2997

nicole_bkb-law.com

http://www.bladokiger.com/bio/NicoleBolan.asp

leslie_bottimorelaw.com

http://www.bottimorelaw.com

Teena Johnson

3315 S. 23rd St. #109

Tacoma, WA 98405

(253) 759-0663

teena_justice.com

http://www.teenajohnson.com

nmargullis_mlr-law.com

http://www.mlr-law.com/AttorneyProfiles.html

m ichael_lawyerscholl.com

www.LawyerScholl.com

Coach

Divorce Coaches

In consultation with your attorneys, you may have one or two DIVORCE COACHES on your team. Divorce coaches help you uncouple your old, dysfunctional relationship by helping you process the emotional part of the break-up and build the skills you need in order to create a respectful divorce and move on with your life.Coaches help you and your partner learn to communicate betterif there are children in the relationship, assist you in learning how to co-parent them together from different homes. Coaches are often invited to the meetings between you and your partner and the attorneys to facilitate communication. Sometimes they assist you and the Child Specialist in developing a parenting plan.Although coaches are an extra expense, most people find that, since the coaches perform many tasks traditionally done by attorneys and do so for significantly less cost, the expense is justified. Coaches also help you come out of your divorce in a better emotional and mental place than you would have otherwise done, assuring you a better future.

Coaches in our group include:

Jamie Kautz

Tacoma, WA

(253) 973-1125

quietmindonline_gmail.com

Wendy Rawlings

1614 S. Mildred St. #B

Tacoma, WA 98465

(253) 661-0181

wendy_wendyrawlings.com

www.wendyrawlings.com

Child/Family Specialist

Child and Family Specialists

The CHILD SPECIALIST joins the team when children are involved. They help the childrenunderstand and process their parents' divorce and act as the children's voice in developing a parenting plan.help the parents understand the adjustment needs of their children through this time of change helps the parents learn to co-parent from separate homes.A Family Specialist may be used instead if the case is low conflict and the clients would benefit from a coach and a child specialist.The FAMILY SPECIALIST works with the parents to resolve their conflicts so they can co-parent effectivelywork on "uncoupling" the dysfunctional relationship between the couple and teach them goog communication skillshelp the child adjust to the changes in the family and bring the child's voice to the development of a parenting plan

Child and Family Specialists in our group include:

Jamie Kautz

Tacoma, WA

(253) 973-1125

quietmindonline_gmail.com

Wendy Rawlings

1614 S. Mildred St. #B

Tacoma, WA 98465

(253) 661-0181

wendy_wendyrawlings.com

www.wendyrawlings.com

Financial

Financial Specialist

A FINANCIAL SPECIALIST gives you the information you need to preserve your wealth, divide your assets, and protect your financial future. This person is experienced in calculating many different financial scenarios to show you what your financial options are. This lets you decide what type of financial settlement will help both of you create and maintain financial stability.They are generally present with the attorneys when the meetings focus on finances.In our group the Financial Specialist is:

Jennie Bouska-Coddington

205 C St. NW

Auburn, WA 98001

(206) 498-8761

Jennie_PlanningfortheBest.com

http://planningforthebest.com

Resources

Service 1
Service 2
Service 3

Service 1

Links

http://collaborativepractice.com/

Collaborative Law Professionals of Pierce County (CLPPC)

PierceCountyCollaborative.org

Collaborative Professionals of Washington (CPW)

collaborativeprofessionalsofwashington.org

Service 2

Articles about the Collaborative Process

Service 3

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I get my partner to agree to using the collaborative process? Collaboration works best when both parties believe it is the best approach for the family/situation and are willing to work at it. Any team member, and certainly your Attorney, can give you information about Collaborative Practice that you can share with your partner. As you both do the research, many advantages to the Collaborative Process emerge:you stay in control of the outcome keeping both sets of needs and interests central to your settlementyou are best able to recognize a fair settlement and what is best for your childrenit encourages cooperation rather than conflict, which is less stressfulit encourages strong, constructive co-parenting, which will benefit the childrenyou will learn new communication skills that can benefit you in the future, both in this and in other personal and professional relationshipsyou will have the opportunity to redefine your family relationships in a way that works for youyou are likely to feel better about yourself and your ex-partner afterwards than if you had engaged in an adversarial conflictyour privacy is better protected if your differences are not aired in CourtCan We Agree to Anything We Want? Your documents will ultimately have to be signed by a judge. There are limitations on what a judge can sign, especially in the area of child support. Your attorney will guide you into certain acceptable parameters but in general, you are in control of the outcome. The exciting thing about Collaborative Practice is that when you are able effectively work with your spouse, you will find better solutions than the Court can and you will be more likely to follow the agreements you create. In addition, if there are disputes in the future your experience with the Collaborative Process will have equipped you to more easily handle the situation without the expense of litigation.How Much Does A Collaborative Divorce Cost?Every case is different, but the collaborative process is often less expensive than the traditional litigation process. This is because you and your partner freely exchange information, when appropriate, hire outside professionals who cooperate and help you heal wounds instead of creating a culture of competition between partners.The use of mental health and financial professionals assure that, insofar as you are ready, healing begins even as the divorce is taking place. Most couples, even when they are mad and hurt, have the ability to eventually determine what is best for their children and to make a fair division of their assets. With the help of a trained collaborative team, this process lets you get to settlement without wasting time, money and feelings on fruitless attacks on each other.Is Collaborative Law Just Like Mediation?Collaborative Professionals use many of the same skills as mediators, but the roles are different. A mediator is neutral. In the Collaborative Process the Attorneys are not neutral, but rather support their respective clients while helping them explore mutually workable solutions. Also, unlike in most mediations, Collaboration involves a specific written agreement not to use the threat of going to court to bully the other party into agreement.Is Collaborative Practice Only For Divorce?Collaborative Practice can be used in all kinds of Family Law situations and for other areas of the law as well. It has been used to resolve disputes regarding child support, paternity, third-party custody, parenting plan modifications, maintenance modifications, residential schedules and a host of other family law concerns. It can also be used for employment disputes, probate issues, as well as some guardianship and real estate issues. It is being used in medical malpractice cases. If you have a dispute, ask an attorney trained in the Collaborative Model whether your dispute can be resolved with Collaborative Practice.

How to contact us

Any member of our team would be happy to talk with you and answer any questions or set up an appointment.

Our offices are located in the Tacoma and surrounding areas and we serve all of Pierce County and South King County.

Please give us a call or send us an email and we'll talk.

Coaches, Child and Family Specialists

Jamie Kautz

(253) 973-1125

quietmindonline_gmail.com

Wendy Rawlings

(253) 661-0181

wendy_wendyrawlings.com

Financial Specialist

Jennie Bouska-Coddington

(206) 498-8761

Jennie_PlanningfortheBest.com

Attorneys

Nicole Bolan

(253) 272-2997

nicole_bkb-law.com

Leslie R. Bottimore

(253) 272-5653

leslie_bottimorelaw.com

Teena Johnson

(253) 759-0663

teena_justice.com

Norm Margullis

(253) 752-2251

nmargullis_mlr-law.com

Michael Scholl

(253) 274-1732

michael_lawyerscholl.com

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Resources
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Collaborative Divorce

Tacoma

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