Something that sets collaborative lawyers apart from other lawyers is that they’re future focused. This is central to the way we practise.

But what does that mean?

Put simply it means we look forward to the bigger picture, and base our suggestions and actions on that. It’s not that we don’t care about what’s going on or what has happened, but we try to keep our head above the conflict, and take actions that will lead us to the ultimate goal of a happy and healthy family rather than just winning the argument in front of us right now.

Focus on Your Happiness

Happiness is not a clear-cut objective, but keeping your emotional trauma in check definitely helps you get there.

Holding onto the past and anger is not going to help you move forward and create a new life for yourself. Divorce is a stressful time, and an emotional crisis. That’s why we have psychologists on our team to work with you and make sure you are in a good place for dealing with stress and to make decisions.

We’ll keep everyone on track to ensure sessions don’t turn into mud slinging and cause more problems. Most people have a similar future goal of finding a happy and healthy life post-divorce for all involved, and we’ll keep that goal front of mind.

Planning for The Future

Fear of the unknown is one of the biggest causes of stress and anger in a relationship breakup. Not knowing what’s going to happen, what assets you’ll have, where you’ll live, and so on doesn’t help you feel cooperative and collaborative.

Cue the neutral financial planner, a financial expert who will come in, honestly assess the situation, and work with you to build a plan for the future that is achievable and what you want. We don’t focus on getting everything you can from your ex-spouse, we are more interested in making sure everyone leaves with what’s in their best interests.

Once you know what you need to do to get to your goal, you’ll feel secure and ready to face the tough decisions.

Legal Support

While the idea of bringing lawyers into the divorce process can seem aggressive, the lawyers on our team work very differently from non-collaborative lawyers. Collaborative lawyers act as your voice, and will help you to stand up and be counted on what is most important to you, but will also communicate in a healthy way and work with your partner’s lawyer. Because both lawyers are open to collaboration, they can negotiate for the best outcomes for your whole family, which won’t come at a cost to either of you.

They also provide the security of drawing up the necessary legal agreements once negotiations are finalised. Having decisions in writing means you can move forward knowing everything is in place, and you don’t need to worry.

Working with a team that is future focused helps you to let go of the past and focus on building your future.