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Bridgeton Office
196 East Commerce Street
Bridgeton, NJ 08302
Tel: 856-497-9000
Fax: 877-445-7105
Collaborative Divorce
Cherry Hill and Atlantic City Collaborative Divorce
When most people think of divorce, they envision an emotionally stressful ordeal involving angry, upset parties in a combative relationship, each attempting to get as much as he or she can out of the other party through hostile legal tactics.
Divorce does not have to be this way. Collaborative divorce is a relatively new form of marriage dissolution, becoming increasingly popular in the Cherry Hill and Atlantic City areas of New Jersey.
Atlantic City and Cherry Hill divorce advice
Atlantic City and Cherry Hill collaborative divorce is an alternative dispute resolution method in family law. In collaborative divorce, lawyers for both spouses agree to help their clients resolve their marital conflicts by employing cooperative—not adversarial—techniques, strategies, and litigation. Everyone involved commits ahead of time to negotiating a satisfactory outcome and agrees that no litigation will occur during these negotiations.
All parties involved in a collaborative divorce—spouses and lawyers—sign a “Participation Agreement” that states if a settlement cannot be reached, the lawyers withdraw from the process and ensuing litigation. This way, it is clear that the retainers paid to the lawyers are for negotiation purposes only. This agreement also defines the commitments involved in a collaborative divorce. In the majority of cases, the Participation Agreement contains provisions such as the following:
- Outstanding issues are to be settled in non-adversarial ways;
- Lawyers will assist the parties in reaching the settlement;
- Everyone acts in the best interests of the children involved, in order to promote the relationships between the children and the spouses and minimize the emotional damage of separation;
- Use of constructive and fair communication;
- Both parties may retain neutral experts; and
- No unilateral changes are to be made to assets, insurance, or other financial matters during the process without the consent of both parties.
Most importantly, the lawyers promise to creatively manage the conflict, emotions, and relationship issues that stem from the divorce.
Cherry Hill and Atlantic City New Jersey collaborative divorce attorneys
Filing divorce in New Jersey can be a complicated and emotionally tiring experience. If you face a pending divorce or have any questions about legal separation, collaborative divorce and contested and uncontested divorce process in New Jersey, contact the skilled divorce lawyers at Helmer, Conley & Kasselman, PA today. Contact our Atlantic City divorce lawyers at 877-HELMER1.
