Divorce Attorney in Johnson County KS Collaborative Practice
Elizabeth Hill, a collaborative divorce attorney in Johnson County, is a member of Collaborative Practice Kansas City, and Collaborative Divorce Professionals of Greater Kansas City (www.collablawmo.com), which are each a network of professionals that includes collaborative divorce attorneys, financial neutrals, and mental health professionals who have extensive training and experience in the collaborative divorce process. Each professional is committed to offering parties in divorce guidance, support, and expertise to resolve all issues surrounding their divorce outside a courtroom. The collaborative practice members all have significant experience working with families utilizing the collaborative divorce model and extensive training as a collaborative professional and team member.
A member of either professional group will provide a description of the divorce options to couples who want to get divorced without going to court, but who still want the protection and guidance of a good divorce attorney in Johnson County. In the collaborative law model, each spouse or partner is represented by his or her own attorney. The two collaborative attorneys may both be members of Collaborative Practice Kansas City or Collaborative Divorce Professionals of Greater Kansas City, but they may not both be members of the same law firm, as this would create a conflict of interest.
Typically, couples going through divorce need help to resolve the legal issues around their separation and divorce, including child custody, child support, and a parenting plan. A divorce attorney in Johnson County, operating within the adversarial system of the courts, becomes the communication channel between the couple, guiding any direct interactions between the spouses. Residents of Johnson County who are facing divorce can choose between court-directed proceedings or collaborative divorce.
In the collaborative divorce process, the collaborative divorce attorneys in Johnson County and both parties agree to cooperate with the process and honestly, voluntarily, and completely disclose information. They agree that parenting decisions will be based on the best interests of their children. Meetings to resolve the legal issues surrounding the divorce takes place in “six-way sessions” with the collaborative team. They also will have opportunities to meet in one-on-one sessions with their respective attorneys at any time during the process.
The collaborative process is uniquely suited to provide support to divorcing couples from the financial neutral with specific training in both the collaborative process and the finances of divorce, as well as licensed mental health professionals, who serve and a divorce coach to assist the parties with communication and developing the parenting plan when there are children. This team approach allows for a protected environment in which divorcing couples can face difficult decisions in safety and with the expert professional help they need.
Importantly, the collaborative divorce approach allows the spouses to reach a mutually beneficial agreement and avoid a contentious, public trial. Collaborative divorce helps promote a healthy transition from the negativity that caused the deterioration of their marriage to a positive working relationship allowing couples to communicate and co-parent more effectively.
As a collaborative divorce attorney in Johnson County who participates as a member of the Collaborative Practice Kansas City network and the Collaborative Divorce Professionals of Greater Kansas City, , Elizabeth Hill, of The Hill Law Firm, P.C., is specially trained and experienced as a collaborative divorce attorney focusing on non-adversarial conflict resolution, interest-based negotiation, and in facilitating difficult conversations.
The Hill Law Firm, P.C. practice has served Overland Park, in Johnson County Kansas, and the Kansas City, Missouri Northland counties of Clay and Platte focusing exclusively on family law for nearly 30 years.
To schedule a consultation or obtain more information about other alternative dispute resolution methods such as mediation, or collaborative mediation or collaborative divorce contact our office by completing the form on the contact page or by calling 913-381-1500.
