How often do Collaborative Divorces Succeed?

One of the downsides of Collaborative Law, as with any alternative dispute resolution process, is that if you do not settle your case outside of court, there is still the risk that you will end up in court litigating your dispute. Many people still choose to give amicable settlement a fair chance, but a common question when trying to make this choice is "how often do these cases succeed in settling outside of court?" While every case is different and will present unique issues, there is now some available data to answer this question.

The International Academy of Collaborative Professionals (IACP) has collected data on Collaborative cases from the professionals involved in those cases through the use of an IACP Professional Practice Survey and reported some of their findings in The Collaborative Review Spring 2012 issue.

Based on a a total of nine hundred and thirty–three cases, which were reported from October 16, 2006 through July 6, 2010, they found that:

"86% of all reported Collaborative cases settled with an agreement on all issues."

In addition, 14% of the cases that terminated without a full agreement had reached a partial agreement.

These percentages confirm that most Collaborative cases will settle, and that is no surprise when clients are well informed beforehand about the process and choose to enter a process aimed at working together. Hopefully, this information will lead to more people choosing to utilize the Collaborative process. Especially given the amount of control over your own life that the Collaborative process provides, and the positive feedback we typically receive from our collaborative clients.

Comments

What is the purpose of the Divorce Nisi waiting period?

In Massachusetts the statutory waiting period after a Judgment of Divorce and before the divorce becomes final (or absolute) is called the Nisi period. After a divorce case settles or goes to trial, a Judgment of Divorce Nisi will issue and it will become Absolute after a further ninety (90) days. This waiting period serves the purpose of allowing parties to change their mind before the divorce becomes final. If the Judgment of Divorce Nisi has issued but not become final yet, and you and your spouse decide you don't want to get divorced, then you can file a Motion to Dismiss and the Judgment will be undone. Although many of my clients who are getting divorced think the idea of getting back together with their ex sounds crazy, I have had cases where this happened. In addition to offering a grace period to change your mind, the Nisi period has three other legal effects: 1. The most obvious effect of the waiting period is that you cannot remarry during the Nisi period, be

Does a Criminal Record affect Child Custody?

If one of the parents in a custody case has a criminal record, the types of crimes on their record could have an effect on their chances of obtaining custody. In custody cases the issue is always going to come down to whether or not the best interests of the child might be affected. In the most extreme case, in which one parent has been convicted of first degree murder of the other parent, the law specifically prohibits visitation with the children until they are of a suitable age to assent. Similarly, but to a less serious degree, in making custody and visitation determinations the court will consider crimes that would cause one to question the fitness of a parent. These types of crimes would obviously include any violent crime convictions which could call into question whether the children would be in danger around a parent who has shown themselves to resort to violence when faced with conflict. In addition, drug and alcohol abuse offenses would call into question a parent&#

What happens after my Divorce Agreement is approved by a Judge?

If you filed a Joint Petition for Divorce in Massachusetts then you will participate in an uncontested divorce hearing and the Judge will then issue Findings of Fact the day of the hearing. A Judgment of Divorce Nisi will issue after thirty (30) days, and it will become Absolute after a further ninety (90) days. This means that if you file a Joint Petition for Divorce you are not legally and officially divorced until 120 days after the divorce hearing date. If you filed a Complaint for Divorce then your case will end either with a trial (if you don't settle) or an uncontested divorce hearing (if you settle). If you reach an Agreement, then a Judgment of Divorce Nisi will issue and be effective as of the date of the uncontested divorce hearing, and it will become Absolute after a further ninety (90) days. This means that if you file a Complaint for Divorce you are not legally and officially divorced until 90 days after the divorce hearing date. Therefore, for 90 - 120 day

Search This Blog