A More Constructive Divorce Path
Divorce does not have to mean preparing for a courtroom battle.
If you want to protect your privacy, reduce unnecessary conflict, and remain involved in the decisions that will shape your family and financial future, Collaborative Divorce offers an alternative to traditional divorce litigation.
In the Collaborative Divorce process, you and your spouse each have your own collaboratively trained family law attorney to provide independent legal advice and advocacy. At the same time, everyone commits to working toward a resolution outside of court.
Jenna Williams represents clients in Collaborative Divorce throughout California, helping them understand their rights, identify what matters most, and work toward thoughtful and practical agreements.
What Is Collaborative Divorce?
Collaborative Divorce is a private, out-of-court process for resolving divorce and family law matters.
Unlike mediation, where one neutral mediator works with both spouses, each person in a Collaborative Divorce has their own attorney. Your Collaborative Divorce attorney represents you, provides you with independent legal advice, and helps you negotiate an agreement that addresses your priorities and concerns.
At the beginning of the process, the spouses and their attorneys agree to work toward resolution without using litigation as a negotiating strategy. This creates a different environment for resolving difficult issues: one focused on transparency, problem-solving, and informed decision-making rather than preparing for a court battle.
You do not have to agree with your spouse on everything to use Collaborative Divorce. Disagreement is often the reason the process is needed in the first place.
Depending on your family's needs, the Collaborative team may also include a neutral financial professional, divorce coaches, and/or a child specialist.
How Does Collaborative Divorce Work?
You and your spouse meet in a private setting with your attorneys and other members of the Collaborative team. Together, you exchange financial information, address the issues that need to be resolved, discuss options, and negotiate an agreement.
Depending on your circumstances, discussion topics may include:
Division of property and debts
Child custody and parenting plans
Child support
Spousal support
Retirement and investment accounts
Business interests
The family home
Rather than approaching each issue from competing positions, the Collaborative process encourages you to understand your options and consider solutions that address the needs and priorities of both spouses.
Once you reach an agreement, your attorneys prepare the documents necessary to finalize your divorce.
The Collaborative Team
Collaborative Divorce recognizes that not every issue in a divorce is best addressed by attorneys.
Depending on your family's needs, you may work with a neutral financial professional who can help organize and understand the finances, divorce coaches who can help facilitate communication and difficult conversations, or a child specialist who can help parents better understand and address their children's needs.
Not every case requires every professional. The team can be tailored to the issues and level of support your family needs.
More Control Over Your Divorce Outcome
One of the primary benefits of Collaborative Divorce is that you and your spouse remain responsible for the decisions that will shape your lives after divorce.
In court, a judge is often asked to make important decisions based on limited information and within the confines of the law. In the Collaborative process, you have more flexibility to consider what will actually work for your family.
The process also takes place in private meetings rather than a public courtroom. This gives you the time and space to work through financial and family issues with the support of professionals who understand both the legal and personal challenges of divorce.
Why Choose Jenna Williams?
Jenna Williams is a California family law attorney, mediator, and collaboratively trained divorce attorney. Her experience with both traditional family law and alternative dispute resolution allows her to help clients understand not only what the law provides, but also where there may be room for a more practical or creative solution.
As your Collaborative Divorce attorney, Jenna provides independent legal advice and helps you prepare for negotiations, evaluate options, and make informed decisions throughout the process. Her approach is practical and solution-focused, while recognizing that the decisions made during a divorce can have lasting effects on your family and financial future.
Take the Next Step
If you are looking for a private alternative to traditional divorce litigation, Collaborative Divorce could be the right option for your family.
Call Jenna Williams at 310-776-5519 or schedule a consultation online to learn more about Collaborative Divorce.
Frequently Asked Questions About Collaborative Divorce
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No. In mediation, a neutral mediator works with both spouses to help them reach agreements. The mediator does not represent either spouse and cannot give either person individual legal advice.
In Collaborative Divorce, each spouse has their own attorney. Your attorney represents you, advises you about your rights and options, and helps you negotiate an agreement. The spouses and their attorneys still work together toward resolution, but each person has independent legal guidance throughout the process.
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At the beginning of the Collaborative process, both spouses and their attorneys agree that the Collaborative attorneys will not represent the parties in contested court proceedings. If the Collaborative process ends without an agreement and either spouse decides to litigate, both spouses will need to retain new litigation attorneys.
This commitment is an important part of the Collaborative process because everyone at the table is invested in working toward an out-of-court resolution.
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No. You do not need to have the terms of your divorce worked out before you begin. In fact, resolving disagreements is one of the purposes of the Collaborative process.
What matters is that both spouses are willing to participate in good faith, share the information needed to make informed decisions, and work toward reaching an agreement outside of court.