Who are we?The members of the Collaborative Divorce Association of North Jersey are experienced family law attorneys and mediators, mental health professionals and financial advisors specifically trained to minimize the conflict in your divorce and to foster respectful communication among you, your spouse or partner, and your children. First-hand knowledge of the trauma that the adversarial approach inflicts upon families compelled many of us to find and practice this better way. The Collaborative goal is to minimize the personal and financial cost of divorce and to develop a fair, sustainable agreement. |
| Our attorneys, many with decades of litigation experience, are committed to Collaborative practice and to mediation because, after years of trial work, they know that war is not the answer. Like seasoned generals who have abandoned the battlefield for diplomacy, they use their legal expertise as a tool to build lasting agreements, not as a weapon with which to assault the emotional well-being of clients, children, and their “adversaries.” |
| Our mental health professionals are experienced clinical social workers and psychologists who have helped many clients transition through divorce. In a Collaborative divorce, a mental health professional offers psychological expertise as a communications coach and not as a therapist. Guiding a client through rugged divorce terrain, the divorce coach contributes concrete advice and specific coping strategies to help the parties’ future interaction be more efficient and productive. With increased understanding, clients are better able to keep their emotions in check to hone a mutually respectful resolution. This change has a ripple effect, setting in motion a new, healthier communication pattern for all family members. |
| Our financial advisors are certified public accountants who support each family member to help create a strong, viable economic reality. Whereas the old litigation model uses financial advisors as hired guns, the new Collaborative process transforms the role of financial consultant into that of a compassionate, unbiased pragmatist. This integral Collaborative team member helps the parties create alimony and child support payments, respecting everyone’s cash flow, brainstorms on fair and tax-friendly property distribution options, and assures that any tough financial decisions take everyone into consideration. |
