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A Collaborative Divorce Lawyer Can Help Minimize the Stress of Ending Your Marriage

When you choose to work with our collaborative divorce lawyer, Faith Z. Brown, you take your divorce out of the courtrooms, eliminating unnecessary complications and stress. Both you and your spouse are represented by lawyers throughout the process without the adversarial litigation usually associated with a divorce.

With our help, you and your spouse can negotiate in a more amicable environment than that typically found in traditional divorce proceedings. Experience the benefits of collaborative divorce firsthand with our attorney’s expert guidance. With more than a decade of experience, Faith has the skills to help you navigate through the paperwork and negotiations.

Learn more about the Benefits of Collaborative Divorce

As an alternative to conventional divorce, Collaborative divorce minimizes the time, expense and hostility that are so often a part of divorce.

“Collaborative Divorce is a process in which both parties and counsel commit themselves to resolve differences fairly, equitably, in a respectful manner without resort or threat of resort to the courts.”

In recent years, divorcing couples have been drawn to this process as a cost-efficient and respectful way of reaching agreements that work for both of the parties and their families.

Collaborative divorce is not your typical court-based, high-stress divorce. In fact, it is meant to resolve your divorce in a peaceful and respectful team-based approach. 

A Collaborative Divorce Lawyer for Families with Children


The collaborative process, guided by a trained collaborative divorce lawyer, holds the most value for families and parents concerned about minimizing the effects of divorce on children by allowing parents to focus on the best interests of the children.

Collaborative Divorce is for parents who want to protect their children from the emotional damage of divorce. In a traditional divorce, parents are often pitted against each other in the courtroom to prove they are the better parent.  This often leaves the parties with negative feelings towards one another after the divorce is finalized.  When the dust settles, these negative feelings remain and directly affect their ability to co-parent their children. The collaborative team can help the parties maintain focus on the children and other identified areas of importance. Collaborative Divorce is particularly effective at responding to the needs of the family via its child-centered approach. It gives parents the opportunity to begin laying the foundation for effective co-parenting.

During the collaborative process, parents are helped to think through every aspect of their divorce as it affects their children. Together with the neutral facilitator, parents formulate an outline for post-divorce time-sharing and decision-making.



Roles of the Collaborative Team

Collaborative  Divorce Lawyer

Collaborative divorce lawyers view their professional responsibilities differently from litigation attorneys.  Collaborative attorneys are not adversaries but are partners in the problem-solving process.
Collaborative divorce lawyers are not hired guns. They do not threaten, insult, or focus on past wrongs or the negative. Your Collaborative attorney will encourage and support you to identify and achieve goals that will result in an amicable settlement.

Financial Professional 

Frequently one party in the divorce is less informed when it comes to the family finances.  The financial neutral presents financial issues and information in an understandable, unbiased format. The role of the financial neutral is to gather financial data, prepare financial statements, develop different financial/support scenarios for clients to evaluate, as well as, provide financial guidance, planning, support, and budgeting throughout the divorce process, with follow up as needed.  Additionally, the financial neutral can explain the tax implications and consequences of each proposed option and assist in evaluating your assets and debts.

Collaborative Neutral Facilitator 

The Neutral Facilitator is a licensed Mental Health Professional with specialized training in the Collaborative process. Neutral Facilitators add expertise by way of facilitating helpful and healthy communication between the parties and their attorneys.  The Neutral Facilitator helps you develop and reinforce effective communication skills, helps the parties to understand their relationship dynamics and emotional triggers, helps the couple avoid and cope with emotional impasses, prepares the parties for the Collaborative meetings and helps develop parenting plans and co-parenting skills.

Benefits of Collaborative Divorce vs Traditional Divorce:

  • The adversarial judicial system is often ill-equipped to handle the emotionally charged process of ending a marriage.
  • Collaborative attorneys agree to assist the couple to resolve issues using cooperative strategies rather than adversarial techniques and litigation.
  • The Collaborative model differs from traditional representation in ways designed to create a positive context for settlement.
  • Lawyers practicing in the Collaborative process agree in advance to remove litigation as an option.
  • Lawyers’ total focus is to reach a positive settlement.
  • Collaborative Divorce is designed to minimize conflict and stress, protect children, keep the cost of divorce down and preserve the marital estate.
  • Collaborative professionals’ goal is to minimize conflict, not inflame it.
  • Private settlement conferences occur in the collaborative professionals’ private offices instead of a public courtroom.


Trust Our Experienced Collaborative Divorce Lawyer

At our firm, we believe that collaborative divorce leads to the best possible outcomes, especially if children are involved. We act with respect to maintain a mature discussion, and handle all the technical details for you, such as official paperwork. When you call on our divorce attorney, expect to receive comprehensive, compassionate, and competent service. 

Contact us at 941-953-2825.  We are happy to speak with you regarding your legal situation.