Roles of Collaborative Team Members  

The interdisciplinary collaborative approach is accomplished by the use of a Collaborative Team, which may consist of Collaborative Coaches, a Child Specialist, a Financial Consultant and Collaborative Attorneys whose roles are as follows:

Collaborative Coach

• helps clients clarify their concerns;
• helps clients manage their emotions;
• helps clients develop and reinforce effective communication skills;
• helps clients develop effective co-parenting skills; and
• helps clients in their after-divorce adjustment with 6 and 12 month follow ups.

Child Specialist

• listens to each child;
• sensitizes parents to the needs of each child in the context of the divorce; and
• gives information to the coaching team to assist in developing an effective co-parenting plan, with 6 and 12 month follow-ups.

Financial Consultant

• gathers financial data;
• provides valuation services; 
• develops different financial scenarios for clients to evaluate; and
• provides financial guidance, planning, support and budgeting throughout the divorce process, with follow-up as needed.

Collaborative Attorney

• assists clients in gathering and analyzing information;
• helps clients examine needs and interests to develop settlement options and packages;
• helps clients evaluate consequences and limitations of possible solutions;
• helps clients weigh settlement options in relation to their values and interests;
• sets the framework for negotiation;
• prepares the required legal documentation of the agreement and obtains a Judgment; and
• helps clients develop post-divorce agreements as needed.

Case Manager

• guides the logistics of the case
• makes sure the process is running smoothly
• managing scheduling of meetings
• ensures team communicates before and after meetings
• tracks timely completion of tasks
• keeps aware of team dynamics

Roles of Collaborative Clients

The responsibilities of client participants in the Collaborative Process are as follows:

• To work towards settling the disputes without court intervention or threat of court intervention;
• To give complete, full, honest, open and timely disclosure of all information whether requested or not;
• To engage in vigorous good faith negotiations, presenting reasoned proposals in all disputes; and where our proposals differ, to use our best efforts to create options that meet our fundamental needs, compromising as necessary to reach settlement of all issues; and
• To abide by the standard California Family Law restraining orders required of all divorcing couples, which preclude:

• Removing the minor child or children of the parties from the state without the prior written consent of the other party or an order of the court; and
• Cashing, borrowing against, canceling, transferring, disposing of, or changing the beneficiaries of any insurance or other coverage including life, health, automobile and disability held for the benefit of the parties and their minor child or children; and
• Transferring, encumbering, hypothecating, concealing, or in any way disposing of any property, real or personal, whether community, quasi-community or separate, without the written consent of the other party or an order of the court, except in the usual course of business; and
• Creating a non-probate transfer or modifying a non-probate transfer in a manner that affects the disposition of property subject to the transfer, without the written consent of the other party or an order of the court. Before revocation of a non-probate transfer can take effect or a right of survivorship to property can be eliminated, notice of the change must be filed and served on the other party.