The Practice Group and the Financial Collaborative Divorce

It is important to understand that working with a divorce financial analyst in the collaborative divorce setting requires all professionals involved in the case to develop trust relationships and teamwork skills that have no place in a divorce lawyer's ordinary practice. The locus for developing these relationships and skills is the practice group. Practice groups are spontaneous organizations of collaborative lawyers, financial professionals and mental health professionals who work in the same geographic region and expect to work together on cases. (In some communities, members will sign formal collaborative participation agreements only with other professionals who are actively involved as members in the local practice group.) In the practice group, trust relationships are built, documents and protocols for practice are devised and kept updated, professional development activities are sponsored, and public education campaigns are implemented. Practice groups can be found everywhere that collaborative divorce practice is found.

The practice group helps lawyers and divorce financial analysts to avoid common pitfalls associated with lack of definition or inconsistent assumptions about how the work will proceed. Each completed collaborative team case provides a wealth of knowledge about what worked well and what did not ' information that can be shared in the practice group not only among the lawyers and divorce financial analyst who worked on that case, but with the larger community of colleagues who will work together on other cases in the future. A smoothly functioning interdisciplinary collaborative practice group can facilitate case debriefing that enhances members' shared understanding of the groundwork required for lawyers and divorce financial analysts to function as a smooth professional team on collaborative cases.

Setting the Parameters

What kinds of understandings between collaborative team members can the practice group help to outline? Following are several rules of thumb I have seen developed, which can be elaborated in detailed protocols and roadmaps to guide effective collaborative teamwork between lawyers and the divorce financial analyst.

• Lawyers and divorce financial analysts should clarify at the start of each case exactly what the financial neutral's work will consist of ' the “scope of the engagement.”
• The divorce financial analyst should take instructions only from the collaborative lawyers. Requests for other services from the clients should be approved by both lawyers before the divorce financial analyst proceeds. For instance, clients may ask the divorce financial analyst to prepare guideline child support calculations. It is a “best practice” for collaborative lawyers to plan carefully when and how such support calculations will be used in the negotiations, and they will not appreciate having their process management undermined inadvertently by the divorce financial analyst.
• Some lawyers expect only spreadsheets from the divorce financial analyst, while others expect indexed supporting documents that will be updated regularly. Increasingly, lawyers request that the work product be scanned and provided in CD-ROM or other digital format rather than in bulky paper files.
• Clients often like working with the divorce financial analyst ' sometimes more than with their own lawyers. They may try to get the divorce financial analyst to mediate issues, or give advice, or otherwise blur the boundaries of the job description. They may complain about their lawyers or coaches to the divorce financial analyst, who ' as the only member of the professional team that deals with “just the facts,” taking no direct role in facilitating decisions ' may feel like a safe harbor when divorce-related stresses rise. The lawyers and divorce financial analyst should have a clear understanding of how such challenges will be handled, before they arise.
• Preparation of budgets can be a loaded process, triggering client anxiety and anger. Lawyers generally want considerable advance input into how these budgets will be prepared, when, and for what purposes. Attorneys do not appreciate disclosure of one party's budget to the other party unless and until they have prepared the clients for constructive lawyer-facilitated discussion. Ordinarily, the divorce financial analyst should send draft budgets to counsel for review and discussion rather than sharing them directly with the other party.
• Long-term cash flow and net worth schedules are valuable tools for creative interest-based settlements, but only as part of a carefully structured roadmap for negotiations. These schedules should be prepared only when the lawyers ask for them. The assumptions to be modeled in various settlement scenarios should be approved by both lawyers, and the divorce financial analyst should not share these scenarios with clients except as directed by the lawyers, so that they serve only constructive purposes in the negotiations.

Conclusion

Early and ongoing involvement of a skilled divorce financial analyst on the collaborative team can improve both the process and outcome in ways that no individual divorce lawyer, however skillful, can duplicate. When a collaboratively trained divorce financial analyst works directly with both clients from the start of a collaborative divorce, the resulting financial disclosure process is more efficient, thorough, cost effective and comprehensible for all parties. The collaborative divorce financial analyst has access to full and complete disclosure from both parties, supported by full and complete documentation on request. It is expected that all financial questions will be answered before negotiations begin. Over the past decade, sophisticated divorce financial software has become available that organizes and presents family financial information in a far more nuanced and sophisticated manner than most lawyers have the skills to accomplish.

Delivery of integrated interdisciplinary professional services on collaborative divorce teams is a young, complex, and evolving art. That it benefits clients and their children is beyond doubt. With a divorce financial analyst on the team, it becomes possible for collaborative lawyers to facilitate creative and financially sound settlement agreements that can meet clients' needs at a level of sophistication beyond the expertise of most divorce lawyers.

Throughout this two-part article, I have focused on the teamwork between collaborative lawyers and the divorce financial analyst. In fact, the team usually also involves two specially trained mental health professionals working as coaches with the parties, and often a collaborative child specialist who is the voice of, and to, the children as well as the source of important developmental information used in working out parenting plans. The professional collaboration across these three disciplines enables divorcing couples with a mind to do so achieve very high-quality, durable settlements. However, discussion of the ways in which the divorce financial analyst works with the coaches and child specialists on the team is beyond the scope of this article.

Pauline H. Tesler, J.D., CFLS, is a family law specialist certified by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization, and a fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. She co-founded the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals and served as its first president. In addition to training and speaking on the subject, Ms. Tesler has written extensively on collaborative law and interdisciplinary team collaborative divorce. Her publications include Collaborative Law: Achieving Effective Resolution Without Litigation, 2nd Ed.(American Bar Association, 2008) and Collaborative Divorce: The Revolutionary New Way to Restructure Your Family, Resolve Legal Issues, and Move on with Your Life (HarperCollins, 2007).

It is important to understand that working with a divorce financial analyst in the collaborative divorce setting requires all professionals involved in the case to develop trust relationships and teamwork skills that have no place in a divorce lawyer's ordinary practice. The locus for developing these relationships and skills is the practice group. Practice groups are spontaneous organizations of collaborative lawyers, financial professionals and mental health professionals who work in the same geographic region and expect to work together on cases. (In some communities, members will sign formal collaborative participation agreements only with other professionals who are actively involved as members in the local practice group.) In the practice group, trust relationships are built, documents and protocols for practice are devised and kept updated, professional development activities are sponsored, and public education campaigns are implemented. Practice groups can be found everywhere that collaborative divorce practice is found.

The practice group helps lawyers and divorce financial analysts to avoid common pitfalls associated with lack of definition or inconsistent assumptions about how the work will proceed. Each completed collaborative team case provides a wealth of knowledge about what worked well and what did not ' information that can be shared in the practice group not only among the lawyers and divorce financial analyst who worked on that case, but with the larger community of colleagues who will work together on other cases in the future. A smoothly functioning interdisciplinary collaborative practice group can facilitate case debriefing that enhances members' shared understanding of the groundwork required for lawyers and divorce financial analysts to function as a smooth professional team on collaborative cases.

Setting the Parameters

What kinds of understandings between collaborative team members can the practice group help to outline? Following are several rules of thumb I have seen developed, which can be elaborated in detailed protocols and roadmaps to guide effective collaborative teamwork between lawyers and the divorce financial analyst.

• Lawyers and divorce financial analysts should clarify at the start of each case exactly what the financial neutral's work will consist of ' the “scope of the engagement.”
• The divorce financial analyst should take instructions only from the collaborative lawyers. Requests for other services from the clients should be approved by both lawyers before the divorce financial analyst proceeds. For instance, clients may ask the divorce financial analyst to prepare guideline child support calculations. It is a “best practice” for collaborative lawyers to plan carefully when and how such support calculations will be used in the negotiations, and they will not appreciate having their process management undermined inadvertently by the divorce financial analyst.
• Some lawyers expect only spreadsheets from the divorce financial analyst, while others expect indexed supporting documents that will be updated regularly. Increasingly, lawyers request that the work product be scanned and provided in CD-ROM or other digital format rather than in bulky paper files.
• Clients often like working with the divorce financial analyst ' sometimes more than with their own lawyers. They may try to get the divorce financial analyst to mediate issues, or give advice, or otherwise blur the boundaries of the job description. They may complain about their lawyers or coaches to the divorce financial analyst, who ' as the only member of the professional team that deals with “just the facts,” taking no direct role in facilitating decisions ' may feel like a safe harbor when divorce-related stresses rise. The lawyers and divorce financial analyst should have a clear understanding of how such challenges will be handled, before they arise.
• Preparation of budgets can be a loaded process, triggering client anxiety and anger. Lawyers generally want considerable advance input into how these budgets will be prepared, when, and for what purposes. Attorneys do not appreciate disclosure of one party's budget to the other party unless and until they have prepared the clients for constructive lawyer-facilitated discussion. Ordinarily, the divorce financial analyst should send draft budgets to counsel for review and discussion rather than sharing them directly with the other party.
• Long-term cash flow and net worth schedules are valuable tools for creative interest-based settlements, but only as part of a carefully structured roadmap for negotiations. These schedules should be prepared only when the lawyers ask for them. The assumptions to be modeled in various settlement scenarios should be approved by both lawyers, and the divorce financial analyst should not share these scenarios with clients except as directed by the lawyers, so that they serve only constructive purposes in the negotiations.

Conclusion

Early and ongoing involvement of a skilled divorce financial analyst on the collaborative team can improve both the process and outcome in ways that no individual divorce lawyer, however skillful, can duplicate. When a collaboratively trained divorce financial analyst works directly with both clients from the start of a collaborative divorce, the resulting financial disclosure process is more efficient, thorough, cost effective and comprehensible for all parties. The collaborative divorce financial analyst has access to full and complete disclosure from both parties, supported by full and complete documentation on request. It is expected that all financial questions will be answered before negotiations begin. Over the past decade, sophisticated divorce financial software has become available that organizes and presents family financial information in a far more nuanced and sophisticated manner than most lawyers have the skills to accomplish.

Delivery of integrated interdisciplinary professional services on collaborative divorce teams is a young, complex, and evolving art. That it benefits clients and their children is beyond doubt. With a divorce financial analyst on the team, it becomes possible for collaborative lawyers to facilitate creative and financially sound settlement agreements that can meet clients' needs at a level of sophistication beyond the expertise of most divorce lawyers.

Throughout this two-part article, I have focused on the teamwork between collaborative lawyers and the divorce financial analyst. In fact, the team usually also involves two specially trained mental health professionals working as coaches with the parties, and often a collaborative child specialist who is the voice of, and to, the children as well as the source of important developmental information used in working out parenting plans. The professional collaboration across these three disciplines enables divorcing couples with a mind to do so achieve very high-quality, durable settlements. However, discussion of the ways in which the divorce financial analyst works with the coaches and child specialists on the team is beyond the scope of this article.

Pauline H. Tesler, J.D., CFLS, is a family law specialist certified by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization, and a fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. She co-founded the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals and served as its first president. In addition to training and speaking on the subject, Ms. Tesler has written extensively on collaborative law and interdisciplinary team collaborative divorce. Her publications include Collaborative Law: Achieving Effective Resolution Without Litigation, 2nd Ed.(American Bar Association, 2008) and Collaborative Divorce: The Revolutionary New Way to Restructure Your Family, Resolve Legal Issues, and Move on with Your Life (HarperCollins, 2007).