Divorce can be an emotionally scarring and expensive experience for all of the parties involved. In an effort to find a way to end a marriage but preserve family ties, some attorneys have turned to collaborative law. In a collaborative divorce, everyone agrees at the outset that their goal is to settle the matter and that if they can’t, the lawyers involved cannot be a part of any future litigation.
The process is practiced in 39 states and the District of Columbia. Now, the New Jersey Family Collaborative Law Act has been introduced in the New Jersey Legislature, with the aim of providing a uniform framework for the use of collaborative law. The New Jersey State Bar Association’s Board of Trustees recently granted high-priority support for the measure. Similar laws have been adopted or introduced in a number of other states, including Hawaii, Ohio, Nevada, Texas, Utah, Illinois, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Washington.
