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Serving Litchfield County
Principles and Guidelines
Serving Litchfield County
Serving Litchfield County

Important Legal Guiding Principles

The Practice of Collaborative Law

At Litchfield County Collaborative Divorce Group, we are proud of what we do to help clients going through tough, emotional times that are part of ending a marriage. We promote 11 key principles in what we do. To learn more, contact one of our member attorneys today.

11 Key Principles

Goals
  • We acknowledge that the essence of “collaborative law” is the shared belief by participants that it is in the best interests of parties and their families in typical family law matters to commit themselves to avoiding litigation.
  • We, therefore adopt this conflict resolution process, which does not rely on a court-imposed resolution, but relies on an atmosphere of honesty, cooperation, integrity, and professionalism geared toward the future well-being of the family.
  • Our goal is to minimize, if not eliminate, the negative economic, social, and emotional consequences of protracted litigation to the participants and their families.
  • We commit ourselves to the collaborative law process and agree to seek a better way to resolve our differences justly and equitably.
No Court or Other Intervention
  • We commit ourselves to settling our case without court intervention.
  • We agree to give full, honest, and open disclosure of all information, whether requested or not.
  • We agree to engage in informal discussions and conferences to settle all issues.
  • We agree to direct all attorneys, accountants, therapists, appraisers, and other consultants retained by us to work in a cooperative effort to resolve issues without resorting to litigation or any other external decision-making process except as agreed upon.
Cautions
  • We understand there is no guarantee that the process will be successful in resolving our case.
  • We understand that the process cannot eliminate concerns about the disharmony, distrust, and irreconcilable differences which have led to the current conflict.
  • We understand that we are still expected to assert our respective interests and that our respective attorneys will help each of us to do so.
  • We understand that we should not lapse into a false sense of security that the process will protect each of us.
  • We understand that while our collaborative attorneys share a commitment to the process described in this document, each of them has a professional duty to represent his or her own client diligently and is not the attorney for the other party.
Attorney’s Fees and Costs
  • We agree that our attorneys are entitled to be paid for their services, and the first task in a collaborative matter is to ensure parity of payment to each of them. We agree to make funds available for this purpose.
Participation With Integrity
  • We will work to protect the privacy, respect, and dignity of all involved, including parties, attorneys, and consultants.
  • We shall maintain a high standard of integrity and specifically shall not take advantage of each other or of the miscalculations or inadvertent mistakes of others, but shall identify and correct them.
Experts and Consultants
  • If experts are needed, we will retain them jointly unless all parties and their attorneys agree otherwise in writing.
Children’s Issues
  • In resolving issues about sharing the enjoyment of and responsibility for our children, the parties, attorneys, and therapists shall make every effort to reach amicable solutions that promote the children’s best interests.
  • We agree to act quickly to mediate and resolve differences related to the children to promote a caring, loving, and involved relationship between the children and both parents.
  • We agree not to seek a custody evaluation while the matter is a collaborative law case.
  • We agree to insulate our children from involvement in our disputes.
  • We agree to attend parenting education classes with our children in a county where the program is available.
Negotiation in Good Faith
  • We acknowledge that each of our attorneys is independent of the others and represents only one party in our collaborative marital dissolution process. 
  • We understand that the process, even with full and honest disclosure, will involve vigorous good faith negotiation.
  • Each of us will be expected to take a reasoned position in all disputes. Where such positions differ, each of us will be encouraged to use our best efforts to compromise to reach a settlement of all issues.
  • Although each of us may discuss the likely outcome of a litigated result, none of us will use threats of litigation as a way of forcing a settlement.
Abuse of the Collaborative Process
  • We understand that our collaborative law attorney will withdraw from a case as soon as possible upon learning that his or her client has withheld or misrepresented information or otherwise acted so as to undermine or take unfair advantage of the collaborative law process. Examples of such violations of the process are: the secret disposition of community, quasi-community, or separate property; failing to disclose the existence or the true nature of assets and / or obligations; failure to participate in the spirit of the collaborative process; abusing the minor children of the parties; or planning to flee the jurisdiction of the court with the children.
Disqualification by Court Intervention
  • We understand that our attorneys’ representation is limited to the collaborative law process and that neither of our attorneys can ever represent us in court in a proceeding against the other spouse.
  • In the event a court filing is unavoidable, both attorneys will be disqualified from representing either client.
  • In the event that the collaborative law process terminates, all consultants will be disqualified as witnesses and their work product will be inadmissible as evidence unless the parties agree otherwise in writing.
Pledge
  • Both parties and attorneys hereby pledge to comply with and to promote the spirit and written word of this document.
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