Note: My name is spelled wrong and the 14 cases are in 18 months, not
12. DMW
Recent law gives smoother road to divorce
By Teresa McUsic
Special to the Star-Telegram
When Francie Cooper knew her 25-year marriage was ending, she looked
for a simpler way to dissolve it legally.
The Fort Worth resident said she found it through a relatively new
process called collaborative law.
"It was a very noncontentious process," she said. "It left us feeling
much more whole than we would have otherwise. While divorce is never
an easy process, I would recommend this to anybody."
Collaborative law takes the traditional long and costly courtroom
process that can add to the emotional weight of a divorce and moves it
to cooperative negotiations among all parties.
And it's growing fast: In 2001, Texas was the first state to adopt a
collaborative-law statute.
Hundreds of Texas lawyers, including about 30 in Tarrant County, have
been trained in the collaborative-law process, according to Diane
Wagner, a Bedford family lawyer. She has overseen 20 collaborative-law
divorces, 14 of them in the past year.
"It's still on the cutting edge of family law," Wagner said. "But
where I might advise it before to my clients, now people are calling
me to say they're interested in collaborative law. It's growing
exponentially."
The heart of collaborative law requires cooperation between the
splitting spouses and their attorneys in an effort to preserve the
relationship in some way. Everyone works in scheduled meetings toward
a final, private agreement, bypassing the court system. Spouses must
sign an agreement up front that they will be civil and not bring up
past infractions in the relationship.
Attorneys for each spouse must agree that they will not hide or
distort information or allow a mistake on the other side to stand,
even if it favors their client. Attorneys also must agree not to
represent their client in traditional litigation if the process fails.
"There are ground rules for communication that are helpful," Cooper
said. "There isn't room for sniping remarks or bringing up the past."
Nationwide, there are about 3,500 collaborative lawyers in 30 states,
according to Dallas lawyer Janet Brumley, author of Divorce Without
Disaster: Collaborative Law in Texas.
The collaborative-law process can save time and money.
Tina Brown of Dallas, who has been through both legal processes for
her two divorces, said her litigated divorce took 18 months, while her
collaborative divorce took just two months.
"The longer it takes, the more unhealthy it is for everybody," Brown
said. "In collaborative law, you're channeling all those emotions that
lead to anger and frustration into practical solutions."
Collaborative law divorces typically take nine months to a year to
complete, Wagner said. In comparison, a divorce through the courts can
take two to three years, she added.
The cost of a divorce under collaborative law averages about one-third
that of a litigated divorce in attorneys fees, according to a survey
in American Lawyer magazine.
Beyond the potential savings, Brumley contends that collaborative law
has numerous other benefits.
"Pursuing divorce collaboratively can save you everything -- time,
your children's self-esteem, friendships, privacy, assets and whatever
relationship you have left with your spouse," she writes.
Another important piece to the collaborative-law process is the use of
a neutral financial planner to evaluate the couple's assets and
liabilities, and to help provide an equitable financial settlement,
said Scott Clarke, a certified divorce financial adviser in Hurst who
works on collaborative-law cases.
In addition to evaluating what the couple has, the financial adviser
and attorneys help the couple focus on what they want in the future.
"We talk to clients about what I call the hot spots, what's really
important to them," Clarke said. "Do they want to stay in the house?
What does financial security mean to them? Are there tax advantages
that make alimony work for both of them?"
Another partner generally used in the process, a mental health
professional, helps to defuse the potentially explosive nature of
divorce, Wagner said.
"One of my cases was almost a failure, but then the couple spent five
hours with a mental health facilitator," she said. "It got them back
on track."
While collaborative law is gaining a footing with divorce proceedings
in Texas, it clearly isn't for everyone, Brumley says.
Divorces involving spousal abuse or family violence, or a lack of
honesty by both parties, may make a collaborative proceeding
inappropriate, Brumley contends.
"If you value working toward a peaceful, amicable solution over
winning at all costs, your values will be honored in the
collaborative-law process," Brumley writes.
Teresa Mcusic's Column Appears Mondays and Fridays.
Teresa McUsic, (817) 460-5514 TmcUsic@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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