Collaborative Services

The Collaborative Law Approach

The collaborative process is for couples who want a civilized, respectful end to their marriage for the sake of all family members. If the following things are important to you, Collaborative Law could be the best process for you:

• You have control of your own divorce process and outcome.
• You seek a civil, respectful, creative and individual process for ending your marriage.
• You recognize the importance of future relationships – even after divorce.
• You believe it is important to protect children from the harm litigation can inflict.
• You place a high value on personal responsibility for handling conflict with integrity.

Neutral financial professionals

Having a neutral financial expert as part of the Collaborative team benefits both parties in several ways. Typically, the financial professional helps the parties analyze historical spending and predict individual household expenses after divorce. The financial professional gathers and verifies information about the husband and wife’s community property and any separate property that might exist. A divorcing spouse who has little experience with managing money can look to the financial neutral for education about his or her finances and how the financial future might look, given specific settlement options. If there are complicated tracing or valuation issues, the neutral financial team member may perform the necessary calculations or oversee getting the required information from a third party.

A financial professional can help the parties integrate a plan for child and/or spousal support, tax planning, and asset and debt division.

Collaborative Services

Provide consulting services to clients involved in the Collaborative Law divorce process, or who are contemplating a divorce. It is our goal to provide a safe, supportive, and respectful environment where clients are empowered to productively assess and resolve financial issues based on their goals and interests, while minimizing damage to their children, families and relationships.
We may act as a financial neutral in a Collaborative Law divorce process, consult with a client contemplating a divorce, or provide financial consulting services to a client during the divorce process. Our services may involve the following:

• Assisting the participants in better understanding the financial issues unique to the clients’ circumstances.
• Assisting the participants in gathering and organizing financial information concerning the clients’ marital assets and liabilities, including preparing schedules of identified property.
• Assisting the participants in reviewing separate property, economic contribution, or reimbursement claims.
• Assisting the participants in gathering and organizing financial information concerning the clients’ income and expenses.
• Preparing a financial projection of future estimated client cash flow.
• Developing federal income tax estimates for the client.
• Providing tax-effected estimates of the value of marital property.
• Preparing present or future value calculations on marital assets and liabilities.
• Assisting the participants by developing and analyzing options for the allocation of the clients’ income and expenses.
• Assisting the participants by developing and analyzing options and scenarios for a division of the clients’ marital estate.
• Assisting the participants in negotiating a financial outcome acceptable to all the parties involved.

Our services are charged on an hourly basis, as agreed to with the client. A refundable
retainer is required and any unused funds are returned to the client at the conclusion of
our services.