COLLABORATIVE DIVORCE
COLLABORATIVE PROCESS CREATES
SOLUTIONS TO FAMILY CONFLICT
Collaborative Divorce in Maryland
Separation and Divorce can create havoc in a family, but spouses can choose to participate in collaborative divorce in Maryland, which is a process that reduces the stress and acrimony. It prohibits the case from going to Court and requires complete transparency. At the Mulinazzi Law Office, we encourage our clients to use collaborative law to find solutions that effectively solve their concerns without the extreme financial and emotional cost of litigation. We work with clients throughout Columbia, Clarksville, Ellicott City, Howard County, Anne Arundel County, and Central Maryland. Contact our attorneys online or call 410-290-6270 to schedule your appointment.
UNDERSTANDING
COLLABORATIVE LAW
In collaborative law, your lawyer is your advocate, but in the collaborative process everyone works together as a team to create options to address common goals for the family. Mental health professionals (called “coaches”) are usually part of the team and they assist both spouses to work through the emotional fog to see positive solutions. Clients meet with the Coaches to address concerns before meeting with their spouse’s and the Coaches use their expertise in child development and family dynamics to assist the client’s to craft Parenting Plans to resolve custody, access, and decision making concerns. The process is flexible in its services, it operates under your timeline (not the Court’s), and the process creates solutions that the Court does not have the authority to do. The process is discreet, dignified, and respectful. While you and the team work to create a separation agreement, you are kept out of Court. In fact, each party (and the attorneys) signs a contract prohibiting their lawyers from taking the dispute to court; this eliminates posturing, grandstanding, and rewards honesty and compromise. As a result, clients save time and money. And, by working together on this they learn how to co-parent and solve hard questions going forward.
WORKING FOR EVERYONE’S
BEST INTEREST
The Collaborative divorce process allows everyone’s concerns to be heard in a respectful and safe setting and the process creates options to allay those concerns. The collaborative process does not allow either side to bully, control, or draw lines in the sand. Instead, with the help of their collaboratively trained lawyers and other collaborative professionals both sides are equals and all are team members committed to the common goals identified by the clients. Attorney Thomas Mulinazzi is a Certified Collaborative Law Professional, having completed the Collaborative and Advanced Team Collaborative Training. He has successfully helped dozens of clients create lasting and fair agreements using the Collaborative Process. Contact our firm online or call 410-290-6270 to schedule your appointment with an experienced lawyer.
TYPES OF DIVORCE IN MARYLAND
Click to learn more about Limited Divorce and Absolute Divorce, the two types of divorce in Maryland.
The “Today Show” interview with a divorced couple who used the collaborative law process.