subject: Northern Virginia Collaborative Law Divorce & Child Custody Lawyers [print this page] Northern Virginia Collaborative Law Divorce & Child Custody Lawyers
VIRGINIA COLLABORATIVE DIVORCE
Parties seeking to divorce in Virginia have the option of pursuing a collaborative divorce. Collaborative divorce is an alternative to traditional litigation. In Virginia, if parties choose to use the collaborative option, each party must retain a collaborative attorney. Collaborative divorce attorneys in Virginia must have specialized training in the collaborative method as well as in mediation.
When parties sign a participation agreement to engage in collaborative divorce, they, as well as their attorneys are committing themselves to working through the collaborative process without engaging in litigation. Further, the parties commit to full disclosure and transparency. By doing so, the parties promise to provide each other with the information necessary for them to make educated decisions, and by doing so, the parties are able to avoid the formal discovery process.
In Virginia collaborative divorce, and particularly in Northern Virginia collaborative divorce, additional collaborative professions can be included in the process. These collaborative professions may include divorce coaches, child specialists, financial consultants and real estate agents. The professionals have also completed the Virginia collaborative divorce training and work to facilitate communication and resolution of the parties' issues. In the Virginia collaborative divorce process, it is not necessary for each party to hire their own professionals. In the collaborative process, the professionals are neutrals, working to educate and assist the parties in their decision making. Depending upon the needs of the parties, the parties may choose to have a separate divorce coach for each of them; this is particularly true in cases where communication between the parties has been strained or in-effective.
VIRGINIA COLLABORATIVE DIVORCE
THE COST OF DIVORCE - PART I
Quite often, divorcing parties in Virginia agonize over whether or not to divorce only to find that they cannot afford to do so. Virginia divorce attorneys typically require a retainer deposit prior to accepting a client. The retainer deposit is a lump sum which is paid up front to the attorney and which is held by the attorney in the attorney's escrow account. As the attorney works on the case and earns his or her fees, the funds are drawn from the escrow account to pay the attorney. Retainer deposits are usually quite large, as there is a substantial amount of work that goes into initiating a new divorce case and/or responding to a newly filed case. Further, in traditional litigation, each party must anticipate being dragged into Court at any time, requiring the expenditure of time and funds.
Choosing Collaborative divorce in Virginia alleviates the threat of being dragged into Court unexpectedly since the parties and their attorneys commit to foregoing litigation. Further, in the collaborative divorce process, the process is initiated by a meeting of the parties and their attorneys. There are no pleadings to be prepared and filed, no summons to be served, and no responses to be filed. Therefore, the Virginia collaborative divorce attorney is typically able to undertake representation of a party with a smaller retainer. The up-front fees in a collaborative Virginia divorce are not prohibitive; there is no need to postpone moving forward.
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