For couples contemplating divorce, collaborative divorce can be an attractive approach to respectfully resolve their differences without going to trial. Often, it is also less adversarial, more economical, and holds the potential of a more expedient resolution. And, many family law attorneys encourage couples to take a collaborative law route for the sake of the children. Their belief is that keeping the divorce process less contentious will help the parent-child relationships later on. Parties who choose a collaborative process will generally agree not to litigate, nor even raise the possibility of adversarial actions at the courthouse. By doing so, a collaborative stance is regarded as sacrosanct. Indeed, if the collaborative process is not successful, the attorneys will not and cannot represent their respective clients in subsequent court proceedings.

Some states encourage or even require that a collaborative law alternative be offered. For instance, New Jersey Court Rule Court Rule 5:4-2 mandates that parties filing for or receiving a divorce complaint must be notified regarding the availability of different alternative dispute Resolution (ADR) methods, ”…including but not limited to mediation, arbitration, and collaborative law (New Jersey Family Collaborative Law Act, N.J.S.A. 2A:23D-1 through-18), and that the litigant has received descriptive material …”