According to a survey which can be found on the web site of the National Center for Health Statistics, 43% of all marriages will end before 15 years.  (First Marriage Dissolution, Divorce, and Remarriage: United States. Advance Data No. 323. 19 pp. (PHS) 2001-1250.) What this means is that most people in this country are or will be living under a court order before they die or their children are grown. Looked at in this stark light, our current approach to divorce is shocking, unworkable and even pathological.  Looked at from any distance, we can see that families do not truly survive the adversarial arena, and that traditional court...

When two people marry, the feeling is one of pleasant thoughts and a lifetime of hope for the future….as it rightfully should be.   A simple marriage contract is signed by both parties without ever a real thought about the possibility of divorcing.  Statistically speaking, divorce occurs in 50% of first marriages and 60% of second marriages.1 What is even more unfortunate is that the emotional, financial, and legal process of divorce that the (once in love) couple can find themselves in, is anything but pleasant or hopeful.  “On its best day the family law system in this country is ‘inefficient’; on its average day it is ‘uncaring’; and on...

     Members of the clergy are a significant segment of society often called upon by, and indirectly involved with divorcing parties and their families.  The authors assembled an article to inform  both the clergy and their members about the collaborative divorce process. Since none of us are members of the clergy, we conducted a small focus group survey to gain a better understanding of their perspective and concerns.   The survey was conducted to obtain direct input on clerical concerns surrounding the divorce process, not for the purpose of statistical relevance.   We interviewed six individuals from varying denominations and religious...

In which Sherrie R. Abney, Esq. shares her experience of bringing the principles of Collaborative Practice to Pakistan. “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his  point of view –until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” –Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mocking bird The American View            Everyone was a little apprehensive.  It was May 7, 2011, and we were preparing to meet ten visitors from Pakistan that the U.S. State Department had brought to Dallas, Texas, to learn about peace keeping and conflict resolution.  Five days earlier the United States Navy Seals had killed Osama Bin Laden...