Common Questions

You will need the help of professionals such as attorneys, mediators or mental health professionals who are trained in Collaborative Practice. The best way to find these trained professionals in South Carolina is to click here for a list of all practitioners of Collaborative Practice in South Carolina.

Yes. Use the “Resources” menu above to access information which should assist you in learning more.

A Collaborative Divorce may be less expensive but not necessarily. The total cost of a Collaborative Divorce depends on a number of factors which include the difficulty and number of issues to be resolved, your attorney’s hourly rate, the fee of the paralegal, the costs of getting the necessary data or information, and amount of time your attorney and other professionals need to spend on the case. It is reasonable to expect the billing policies to be confirmed in writing, along with additional costs which include court costs (e.g. filing fees or judgment fees), office costs (e.g. copying, long distance telephone calls, postage, etc.), time spent with you in conference, preparation for conferences, telephone calls, and document production. The cost of other professionals on your team will also affect your total expenses. These could include your divorce coach, a child specialist, or your neutral financial specialist. In addition, there may be appraisals, actuarial analysis, or other experts to help analyze the case. Often these costs end in a total savings for you, as unresolved differences that are not necessarily law related, add to time and money costs for the (often more expensive) professional, such as the lawyers.
While there are many factors which affect the total cost of any divorce, far and away the biggest factor is how quickly an agreement is reached. In analyzing the costs of various options, keep in mind no one can predict the exact cost of a divorce. Also, don’t overlook the emotional cost of a protracted battle or the frequent fall-out of the adversarial process: continuing, on-going conflict in the future.

You can either ask for recommendations from the Collaborative lawyer with whom you are working or direct your spouse to this website.

Not unless the pending case is taken off of the Court’s docket.

If you find yourself in a traditional divorce and you are interested in exploring the possibility of that divorce becoming a Collaborative Divorce, you should not hesitate to contact a Collaborative Divorce professional in your area.

Yes. In mediation, an impartial third party (the mediator) facilitates the negotiations, becomes the record keeper and generally manages the process toward agreement, allowing the lawyers to focus more on advising and assisting their clients. Mediation can be used as part of the Collaborative Process, usually with both Collaborative attorneys present with the clients in the mediation session. In circumstances where the situation is quite complicated or highly emotional, a mediator can be an important impartial facilitator for these team meetings.

However, it may not be necessary to engage the assistance of a mediator when the spouses are able to resolve issues with the help of their Collaborative attorneys, mental health professionals, and financial specialist.

Collaborative Practice changes some aspects of the traditional attorney-client relationship. Encourage your spouse to learn more by speaking with a collaborative attorney, divorce coach or independent research. Your attorney is your advocate and advisor. Per the Collaborative Settlement Participation Agreement, your attorney focuses primarily on being your “Counselor at Law.” Rather than preparing for litigation, your attorney will be assisting in developing the terms of a settlement that both spouses will deem fair and effective. The goal is not to out-litigate the other side, but rather to reach a fair settlement of the case. Your attorney will sign an agreement that, in order to promote settlement, there will be civility, honesty, and full disclosure of assets. Litigation maneuvering is not a part of Collaborative Practice.

However, this does not mean that everything you disclose to your attorney necessarily is disclosed to the other side. There will be discussions that you and your attorney have, outside the presence of the other side, that are confidential. Nonetheless, the philosophy of Collaborative Practice is to raise issues, disclose interests/aims, and work toward settlement. This is much different than the litigation model which is to frame issues for one side’s advantage, withhold information, and try to get an upper hand in the litigation process.

In addition, the disqualification provision of the Participation Agreement provides that, if either party decides to resort to adversarial litigation, all of the Collaborative Professionals must resign and cannot be used as witnesses in any litigation. This is a limited scope of representation that you must have your attorney explain to you fully before embarking on this process. Obviously, this is a different type of attorney-client relationship. However, experience has shown that this provision is important in keeping the process on track and motivated. It also allows everyone to put their full energies into crafting an agreement without looking over their shoulder for trial implications or maneuvers.

If one or both of the parties have significant mental disabilities, severe personality disorders, or are prone to violence, they are not ideal candidates for the Collaborative Process. On the other hand, these types of cases are not served any better, and may be made worse, by trying to use more traditional litigation or mediation process.

If one of the parties is operating under a disadvantage, the mediation model may result in an unfair result. On the other hand, the same can be true of the litigation model which can end up being extremely expensive and time consuming. Therefore, while some types of cases are not ideal for the Collaborative Process, the Collaborative Process may still be the best alternative because additional help is available which allows the spouses to find a more effective solution. Care in structuring such a case and getting the professional help needed is key.

For the process to be effective, both parties must welcome the advantages of the Collaborative Process and want to use it to resolve their divorce issues.  Most spouses seem reluctant for the simple fact that he or she has never heard of the Collaborative Process. Unfortunately, many divorce attorneys do not discuss with their clients the various options of alternative dispute resolution that are available in South Carolina. Unless individuals do their own research, they are not well informed. Encourage your spouse to learn more. Both of you should be doing your research. Another great website for more information on this practice is the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals (www.CollaborativePractice.com). Once your spouse has gathered his or her own information, any hesitation toward a Collaborative Divorce should be diminished. A divorce is a life-changing event. Cutting corners in how you meet its challenges may be the most expensive thing you can do.[i]