Albuquerque Collaborative Divorce Attorneys

One of the Oldest New Mexico Family Law Firms

Collaborative divorce is a type of alternative dispute resolution that is becoming more and more common in New Mexico. Like divorce settlement facilitation, collaborative divorce is an option that divorcing spouses may use instead of a formal adversarial divorce procedure. Unlike divorce mediation, collaborative divorce does not involve a third-party neutral decision maker.

At Atkinson & Kelsey, one of Albuquerque's oldest and most experienced family law firms, we have an active practice in collaborative divorce. Our collaborative divorce practice is led by AV-rated* attorney Virginia R. Dugan, who is certified as a family law specialist by the New Mexico Board of Legal Specialization.

New clients of our law firm will learn about collaborative divorce during one of their initial consultations with a divorce lawyer. We will help you analyze whether the collaborative divorce process might be appropriate for your circumstances.

What Is Collaborative Divorce?

In collaborative divorce, the spouses each retain a lawyer trained in collaborative divorce procedures. The attorneys and the clients all sign an agreement that they will not litigate the divorce and that they will openly share all relevant financial and other information. The attorneys agree that, if the collaborative process is unsuccessful, they will not represent the clients in any divorce litigation. This agreement helps encourage settlement.

In a collaborative divorce, the divorcing spouses share experts, which helps cut down on the costs of the divorce. If a financial professional is needed to provide an opinion regarding property division, everyone agrees on a qualified expert and accepts that expert's report. The same holds true for other types of experts who might be needed to provide opinions regarding child support, child custody or alimony; such experts might include child development specialists, vocational experts and mental health professionals.

Because collaborative divorce requires everyone to commit to settle the disputed questions rather than litigate them, a collaborative divorce can relieve divorcing spouses of a lot of stress often associated with a divorce, which can be especially positive for any children affected by the divorce.

A collaborative divorce is also more private than a formal divorce trial, which may make it appropriate in divorces in families with very high assets.

Find Out More About Collaborative Divorce

In some cases, collaborative divorce will not be recommended. For example, if a history of abuse exists in the family or if the power relationships between the spouses are extremely unequal, an attorney trained in collaborative law would never recommend the collaborative process because it may not adequately protect the abused or less powerful spouse's interests.

Find out if collaborative divorce is right for you. To schedule a consultation with one of our Albuquerque attorneys, call toll free (888) 350-5903 or use our online contact form.

* CV, BV, and AV are registered certification marks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards, and policies. Martindale-Hubbell is the facilitator of a peer review rating process. Ratings reflect the confidential opinions of members of the Bar and the judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell ratings fall into two categories - legal ability and general ethical standards.