Starting the Process
- Review and understand ground rules and expectations
- Sign Collaborative Participation Agreement
- Organize a team of professionals
- Formulate high end goals
- Discuss pressing needs or changes to status quo
(It can take time to lay the foundation for the process to be most effective and successful)
Collect and Share Information
- Background information about each party and their relationship
- Interests of the parties
- Information about any children or others important to the discussion
- Financial data – What do the parties currently have? What else is needed?
(The time involved may depend on the emotional/legal/and financial complexity of the situation)
Framework for a Settlement Agreement
- Identify main elements that need to be addressed
- Brainstorm options to address the main elements
- Evaluate options/scenarios
- Ask questions, discuss and clarify options
- Package/Combine options to form settlement
(usually 1 to 4 joint sessions depending on the number of issues)
Finalizing Settlement
- Draft agreements
(Expect some fine-tuning to the agreement to reach final document ready for signature)
Post Settlement Work
- Follow up per agreements, Implementation
- Estate planning documents (Will, Trust, Living Will, Power of Attorney, Trust, and execution of beneficiary designation on assets i.e., life insurance, retirement), Re-title assets, and Co-parenting discussions
Court Documents
- As needed (i.e., Divorce Order, Retirement Order, Name Change Order, Order Incorporating Settlement)
Closure
- The clients and the professionals have a sense of closure when an agreement is reached, the court work is uncontested and there is cooperation to implement the agreement and orders
Availability from Team Members
- For assistance in the future should issues arise that lead to a supplemental agreement, modification, clarification and/or enforcement