Phoenix Collaborative Law Attorney
Your divorce doesn't have to be a battleground. The issues involved in a divorce are often best settled outside of court. The collaborative law process provides a practical alternative to the adversarial nature of the traditional divorce process.
Phoenix attorney Wendy Raquel Hernandez is a trained collaborative legal professional. She has undertaken post-law school training in the techniques and methods of a collaborative law attorney. This training gives clients of The Law Offices of Wendy Raquel Hernandez, P.C. more options.
What Is Collaborative Law?
The collaborative law approach provides divorcing couples the resources to resolve all their issues in a respectful manner that minimizes confrontation. The goal is to reach agreement on all divorce issues outside of court.
How Does It Work?
Both parties commit to resolving every issue through the collaborative process without taking any dispute to court. Each party is represented by his or her own attorney. A team of other professionals is available to help the parties resolve matters concerning property division, custody, visitation, child support and alimony. The collaborative law team typically involves:
- A legal professional — a lawyer trained in collaborative law
- A coach — usually a psychologist or other mental health professional
- A child specialist — a mental health professional who represents the interests of the children
- A financial specialist — typically a certified financial planner who summarizes the current financial situation and projects how a plan will affect all parties in the future.
What Are the Advantages of Collaborative Law?
- Control: You do not allow a judge to make decisions about our life or your children's lives. You work it out yourselves.
- Support: You get support from your attorney and other collaborative law professionals.
- Focus: Everyone is focused on crafting a fair settlement, not trying to position themselves for a possible court battle.
- Predictability: You know up front how many meetings you are going to have and when you will be finished.
- Lasting solutions: Settlements reached through the collaborative law process are less likely to need modifications after the divorce is final. If a modification is required, the process can be used again.
- Less conflict: Divorce can be difficult. But the collaborative law process is designed to minimize conflict, while family law litigation is adversarial.
What If I Want to Go to Court?
The collaborative law process does not prevent either party from taking an issue to court. However, once you do so, you will need to find a new attorney. Legal professionals who represent a client in a collaborative law divorce cannot represent the same client in the divorce litigation.
To arrange a consultation about collaborative law with attorney Wendy Raquel Hernandez, please contact our law firm. From offices in Phoenix we represent clients throughout Arizona.
