If you are getting divorced in Tampa Bay, you have two main options: Enter the adversarial system or utilize the collaborative process. How is adversarial divorce different from collaborative divorce?
The term “adversarial” is defined by the Collins English Dictionary as “pertaining to or characterized by antagonism and conflict.”
Anyone who has gone through the traditional divorce litigation process can probably relate and understand why the Florida court system is known as an adversarial system. A Husband and Wife are forced to face off as adversaries, with each often trying to prove the other a bad parent with poor morals and terrible financial habits, to boot. They are treated as opposing parties with dueling experts and contrary interests. Their personal lives are poked and prodded and laid bare in a public forum as they get judged by, well, a judge. Mediation may be utilized, but litigation attorneys always maintain the threat to do battle in court.
Contrast this to collaborative divorce, a form of dispute resolution offered in Tampa Bay. A Husband and Wife are treated not as adversaries, but as members of a team who, along with their collaborative attorneys and other professionals, are simply looking for options to settle differences. A facilitator ensures that communication remains productive and that the spouses focus on their common interests, such as their children. Often times, a neutral financial professional will help the spouses learn how to maximize the benefit of their assets while minimizing the impact of debt.
Each spouse hires a separate collaborative attorney who advises them throughout the process. A collaborative attorney is contractually barred from bringing any matter to be litigated in front of a judge, which means that the attorney’s sole focus is to help his or her client reach a fair settlement that is acceptable to both spouses.
In collaborative divorce, all discussions remain private and confidential. Once a full settlement is reached, a quick, five-minute final hearing will be required to make the divorce official; however, Tampa judges permit collaborative clients to keep their financial information and settlement terms out of the court file.
So, how is adversarial divorce different from collaborative divorce? Collaborative divorce helps spouses end their marriage without destroying their family.
If you have questions regarding how a Tampa Bay collaborative divorce process can help you, schedule a consultation with The Law Firm of Adam B. Cordover, P.A., at (813) 443-0615 or fill out our contact form.
Adam B. Cordover is Vice President of the Collaborative Divorce Institute of Tampa Bay and is a member of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals. Adam served on the taskforce that drafted the Hillsborough County collaborative family practice administrative order signed by Chief Judge Manuel Menendez.
About Adam B. Cordover, Attorney-at-Law
Family Diplomacy is dedicated to helping clients restructure their families privately and respectfully. We practice exclusively in out-of-court dispute resolution, with a focus on collaborative divorce and family law, mediation, direct negotiations, and unbundled legal services.
We maintain this out-of-court practice because we strongly believe that family disputes should be resolved in a private conference room, not in a hostile and public courtroom environment. This unique perspective on family law stems back to Adam B. Cordover’s experience studying International Affairs in Washington, D.C., and abroad. Adam had the rare opportunity to work closely with ambassadors and diplomats from war-torn regions around the world. He traveled around the globe, learning from diplomatic leaders as they applied dispute resolution techniques to tackle seemingly impossible conflicts. It dawned on him: If these techniques can work in the complex world of International Relations, why not Domestic Relations and Family Law?
This realization lead Adam to create an exclusively out-of-court practice and to bring a more peacemaking approach to family law. In his previous role as a litigation attorney, Adam witnessed parties experience the negative emotional and financial effects that long, drawn out divorce battles can have on families. As a result, Adam has become a strong proponent of the Collaborative Process, where a structure is put in place so that life’s hardest moments do not have to be any more difficult than necessary.
A thought leader in the international collaborative law community, Adam successfully spearheaded an effort of the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit to draft an administrative order safeguarding the principles of collaborative family law (just the fourth such administrative order in Florida). Adam has been featured in or interviewed about collaborative practice by the Tampa Bay Times, Tampa Tribune, Orlando Sentinel, Miami Herald, Tampa Bay Business Journal, Florida Bar News, NBC, Fox 13, Bay News 9, ABC Action News, The World of Collaborative Practice Magazine, and Spirit FM 90.5. Adam regularly speaks at professional and civic organizations locally and internationally regarding the collaborative process.
Adam B. Cordover is president of Next Generation Divorce, a 501(c)(3) and Florida’s largest interdisciplinary collaborative practice group with member attorneys, mental health professionals, and financial professionals throughout Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Sarasota, and Manatee Counties. Adam is also on the Executive Board and co-chair of the Research Committee of the Collaborative Family Law Council of Florida. Further, Adam is a graduate of the inaugural class of the Leadership Academy of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals.
You can learn more about us and our services at www.FamilyDiplomacy.com.
Attorney Adam B. Cordover is admitted to the Florida Bar and the United States District Court, Middle District of Florida. His office is located at 412 East Madison Street, Suite 824, Tampa, Florida 33602.
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Why the need go through an adversarial process when collaborative is a better avenue at arriving at a fair compromise.
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