Roles of Professionals in Team Collaborative Practice

For families with minor children, large marital estates or high conflict, the Collaborative Divorce Team consists of attorneys and may also include coaches, financial advisors, and child specialists. Each professional plays a unique role in the Collaborative Process.

Collaborative Divorce Attorney

• Provide support and guidance for their respective client while empowering them to assert their own needs and interest.
• Support the clients in resolving areas of dispute.
• Cooperate with other team members to guide the clients through the process.
• Work with both clients and other attorneys to create legal documents necessary to complete the process.
• Are licensed attorneys with collaborative training.

Child Specialists

• Function as a neutral professional toward the parents with the intent of providing the parents with the child’s perspective.
• Meet with parents to obtain developmental information, identify family strengths and help set goals for the children’s needs in the process.
• Meet with the children to assess their hopes and needs for the future.
• May work with the Coaches to strengthen the co-parenting relationship.
• Give feedback to the parents and other collaborative professionals.
• Help the parents create a written Parenting Plan.
• Are licensed mental health professionals with collaborative training.

Coaches

• Provide support and guidance to their respective clients in a non-therapeutic capacity.
• Meet separately with their respective clients to identify needs, strengths, and areas of concern.
• Assist clients in developing effective communication and/or co-parenting skills in the best interest of the children.
• Help clients reduce anxiety as they make decisions about the future.
• Help the parents create a written Parenting Plan.
• Help the clients develop a Relationship Plan for post-divorce interactions.
• Are licensed mental health professionals with collaborative training.

Financial Specialists

• Help assemble marital property and Cash Flow spreadsheets that reflect the financial information provided by the spouses.
• Work with one spouse or the other to provide adequate understanding of the current and future financial situation.
• May identify positive and negative tax consequences, insurance regulations, and retirement account regulations, business or pension valuations.
• May discuss and counsel the spouses on their retirement picture.
• Are financial planners, advisors or accountants with collaborative training.

All Team Professionals

• Share pertinent information with all team members;
• May meet with other members of the Collaborative Team in conference calls or face to face team meetings as needed; and,
• May attend joint meetings with other team professionals to help the case proceed smoothly.