Smith Peacock Kelowna LawyersCollaborative Family Law KelownaMediation Kelowna
Ron Smith Glenda PeacockSmith Peacock Kelowna Law Firm
Collaborative Law
Collaborative Family Law is an exciting new concept of family law practice, designed to offer participants a humane, wholistic approach to divorce. Lawyers throughout BC have joined together to provide this alternative to the traditional court process. When a marriage or common-law partnership ends, those involved are left feeling emotionally distraught. It can be extremely difficult for them to make objective, long-term decisions in this state of mind.
In the collaborative divorce process, both parties commit, in writing, to reaching an agreement without going to court. Lawyers for each side work with the parties to negotiate the terms. If the matter must go to court after the contract is signed, both lawyers must resign and new ones are appointed.

Often, the parties recruit the aid of a counsellor known as a communications coach and a financial expert to help with the process. The professionals involved communicate openly with each other to minimize the negative impact of divorce on their clients (and, importantly, their clients' children).

Because the collaborative law process focuses on building solutions together to reconstruct the individual lives involved, it is usually less expensive and more creative than other dispute resolution methods.