SCL_Collaborate

Florida Collaborative Divorce

[SCL_Collaborate @SCL_Collaborate]

https://t.co/jDCgWgdDHz

[SCL_Collaborate @SCL_Collaborate]

From one bold note in 1990 by Stu Webb to a global symphony: Collaborative Practice has transformed dispute resolution.

California pioneers like Pauline Tesler and many others developed the notes and built the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals.

Now 28 U.S. jurisdictions have adopted the Uniform Collaborative Law Act.

“Collaborative Law is reinvented wherever it takes root.” — Stu Webb

Read all about it at:

https://t.co/6slHnnyIbl

[SCL_Collaborate @SCL_Collaborate]

On April 8, 2026, in First United Methodist Church of Hobe Sound v. Board of Trustees, Florida’s First District Court of Appeal reinforced Florida law requiring courts give “hierarchical deference” to church rules for resolving intra-church property disputes.

Florida courts must defer to the denomination’s rules, rather than apply the “neutral principles” approach most other states follow. Under that approach, courts may look past hierarchical rules and theology to plain documents, like deeds, trust papers, and to state laws.

There may be a better way to resolve religious property disputes than being stuck with hierarchical rules or litigating for relief Florida courts can’t presently grant.

The collaborative law process can turn division into dignity. In the process, participants can achieve private, creative, mission-focused solutions for disaffiliation issues, property disputes, and faith-based family differences.

Find practical guidance, team roles, and real-world models in this new blog.

[SCL_Collaborate @SCL_Collaborate]

@PopCrave She's even more than four and a half! https://t.co/gQa4x2FPZG

[SCL_Collaborate @SCL_Collaborate]

This article is part of Florida Collaborative Quarterly — Issue 001, a publication of the @CollaborateFACP exploring the development and practice of Collaborative Law and interdisciplinary collaboration.

[SCL_Collaborate @SCL_Collaborate]

https://t.co/jDCgWgdDHz

[SCL_Collaborate @SCL_Collaborate]

Lasting dispute resolution flows from cooperation, not conflict.

When paths diverge in your relationship, choose dignity, control, and calm progress for your family.

Collaborative Divorce offers you a respectful, private, confidential, creative, flexible, efficient, goal-driven, child-focused, team approach towards agreement.

Your collaborative team can help you steer through legal complexities towards peaceful resolution.

Learn more about Florida Collaborative Divorce: https://t.co/p4eTjfCfAh.

Related reading:

When Clients Retain Their Power: The Collaborative Law Process - https://t.co/6ZjWCfNlXP

Harness Collaborative Contract Power! - https://t.co/GsEYHKK9FF

Uniform Collaborative Law Act (UCLA) in the US - https://t.co/zqjOUr80k0

* * *

In Florida, explore options for your family with: the @CollaborateFACP or the @FamilyLawFla of The Florida Bar.

Regional collaborative practice groups in Florida include:

◉ Brevard Collaborative Association
◉ Capital Collaborative Group(Tallahassee)
◉ Collaborative Divorce Professionals (Panama City/Northwest Florida)
◉ The Collaborative Family Law Group of Central Florida (Greater Orlando)
◉ Group of Northeast Florida, Inc. (Jacksonville)
◉ Collaborative Family Law Institute (Miami)
◉ Collaborative Family Law Professionals of South Florida (Fort Lauderdale)
◉ COLLABORATIVE LAW PROFESSIONALS ASSOCIATION OF CENTRAL FLORIDA INC (Lakeland)
◉ Collaborative Professionals of Southwest Florida (Fort Myers)
◉ @NextGenDivorce (Tampa Bay)
◉ North Central Florida Academy of Collaborative Professionals (Gainesville)
◉ PBACP, Palm Beach Academy of Collaborative Professionals, Inc.
◉ Sarasota Collaborative
◉ @ChooseCollab (South Palm Beach County)
◉ Tampa Bay Academy of Collaborative Professionals
◉ Hispano Collaborative Professionals™ (HCP)

For resources about the collaborative process and professionals in your area, please visit the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals (IACP).

#collaborativedivorce

[SCL_Collaborate @SCL_Collaborate]

@MayMayspeaks Must

[SCL_Collaborate @SCL_Collaborate]

Contract Power in Collaborative Family Law

🤝 Imagine Solutions, Not Pain Points
*Collaborative teams help craft unique support agreements.

*Contract to cover post-graduation medical expenses.
Enable extended education funding.

🎓 Provide for Education through Contracts:
*Extend support for a child's education, including tuition and housing.

*Provide for books, study programs abroad, and more.

💔 Support Families Beyond Legal Constraints:
*Couples may agree alimony will continue post-remarriage.

*Provide for support of an adult dependent to continue, even after a parent's passing.

💡 Adaptable Custody Agreements:
*Reshape custody and timesharing based on life events certain to occur.

*Contract for flexible and tailored parenting solutions.

📜 Draw on Freedom to Contract:
*Blend legal foundations with innovative solutions.

*Foster collaborative, customized resolutions.

States, public policy, and the Uniform Collaborative Law Act encourage people to use their power to contract to settle disputes. The collaborative environment allows them and their professional team to direct their contract power constructively.

This freedom to contract expands choices available to people who use the collaborative process. Collaborative teams invite and encourage every member to imagine solutions beyond outcomes courts could order, and to commit to them in contracts.

By selecting among imagined solutions and expressing them in contracts, participants can achieve resolutions a judge, constrained by statutes, case precedent, and rules of procedure and evidence, couldn’t otherwise impose.

[SCL_Collaborate @SCL_Collaborate]

Many parents of kids with disabilities hear “They’ll age out at 18” and panic. Good news for Floridians: section 61.1255, Florida Statutes lets courts order support for dependent adult children.

Collaborative law lets both parents work with special-ed advocates, trust attorneys, and benefits experts to create a plan that works — without courtroom drama.

[SCL_Collaborate @SCL_Collaborate]

Life keeps flowing — make your divorce transition flow smoothly.

In Florida collaborative divorce matters, having clear alimony numbers under Florida’s durational alimony formula gives your team and you information to help develop and explore creative settlement options.

It may help couples to know, if they don’t agree on another financial settlement, Florida law provides:

➤ MAXIMUM DURATION OF ALIMONY

50–75% of marriage length. A trial court may extend durational alimony under exceptional circumstances.

➤ AMOUNT OF ALIMONY - STARTING POINT

The lesser of the seeking spouse's (1) actual need and (2) 35 percent of the difference between the spouses' net income, as determined under sections 61.30(2) and (3), Florida Statutes.

Get the baseline fast with our free Florida calculator.

🔗https://t.co/AIfVV93WRf

Move forward in calm waters. 🌊🐋🦢

For more information, contact a member of the @FamilyLawFla.

For help with divorce finances, talk to a collaboratively trained Certified Divorce Financial Analyst at the @InstituteDFA or Certified Financial Planner at the @CFPBoard.

Get more information about your dispute resolution options from a member of the
@CollaborateFACP.

[SCL_Collaborate @SCL_Collaborate]

Read analysis and updated statistics on Florida Collaborative Divorce, its success rate, duration, cost, and demographics in the Fall 2025 issue of the Family Law Commentator (Vol XLV, Issue 1), published by the @FamilyLawFla.

The data come from survey responses the Florida Academy of Collaborative Professionals - FACP collected between 2014 and mid-2024 for 299 collaborative matters.

Type:
‣ 93% of collaborative matters were divorce.
‣ 80% of collaborative matters included minor or dependent children.

Success:
‣ 85.1% concluded with full resolution of all issues
‣ 2.1% concluded with partial resolution on some but not all issues
‣ 11.4% terminated with no resolution

Time:
‣ 90.7% concluded in 12 months or less
‣ 60% concluded in 6 months or less
‣ 29.2% concluded in 3 months or less

Cost:
[217 survey responses where neither lawyer was representing a client pro bono]
Total cost to the couple:
‣ 11% of collaborative cases in FL cost $20,000 or less.
‣ 13% of collaborative cases in FL cost $20,001 to $30,000.
‣ 18% of collaborative cases in FL cost $30,001 to $40,000.
‣ 13% of collaborative cases in FL cost $40,001 to $50,000.
‣ 19% of collaborative cases in FL cost $50,001 to $75,000.
‣ 10% of collaborative cases in FL cost $75,001 to $100,000.
‣ 15% of collaborative cases in FL cost $100,001 or more.

Grouped differently:
‣ 24% cost $30,000 or less.
‣ 55% cost $50,000 or less.
‣ 29% cost between $50,001 - $100,000.

Team:
‣ Of the matters for which a collaborative professional team member responded to the survey, 92% included a financial professional.
‣ Of the matters for which a collaborative professional team member responded to the survey, 84% included a neutral facilitator.

Age:
‣ 23% of the collaborating clients were 40 years old or younger.
‣ 39% were between 41 and 50.
‣ 26% were between 51 and 60.
‣ 11% were 61 or older.

Special thanks to @CordoverLaw and @collabally, Interdisciplinary Collaborative Facilitator, for their work.

To learn if Collaborative Divorce may be a good fit for your family, visit https://t.co/Oz1aq3nbY0.

Photo by Phạm Mi on @Unsplash.

[FL_CollabCases @FL_CollabCases]

Free Florida Family law case search tool. Current through October 20, 2025.

Plug keywords into the search tool. Get case summaries and links to cases in @Google Scholar.

🔗https://t.co/3XsLxop3Na

🐬 Dive in!

[SCL_Collaborate @SCL_Collaborate]

The Collaborative Practice movement draws power from the Uniform Collaborative Law Act/Rule (UCLA/R), a model framework for Collaborative Practice. The @uniformlaws completed the draft in 2010.

Twenty-eight jurisdictions (27 states and the District of Columbia) have adopted the Uniform Collaborative Law Act/Rule (UCLA/R) in the United States.

In 2024, Kentucky and Louisiana (by statute), and Mississippi (by rule) joined the march. This year, Oklahoma and Connecticut followed (by statute).

Steady adoption of the UCLA/R reflects the onward march of Collaborative Practice. But the movement extends globally, far beyond the UCLA/R.

Collaborative Practice serving large populations thrives in states (Minnesota, California, New York, Massachusetts) and countries (Canada, the UK, France, Brazil, Italy, Australia) that have yet to adopt the UCLA/R or an equivalent, yet were among the first places where Collaborative Practice took root.

On February 5, 2024, the @ABAesq House of Delegates adopted Resolution 703, approving the UCLA/R as "appropriate for those states desiring to adopt the specific substantive law suggested therein."

For a statewide chart of enactment of the Uniform Collaborative Law Act, see https://t.co/zqjOUr8y9y.

Find a collaborative professional now at the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals or, in Florida, the @CollaborateFACP.

[SCL_Collaborate @SCL_Collaborate]

Collaborative Process: Clients Retain Power to Expand Choices and Create Contract Solutions

Retaining control over solutions expands what people can agree to do. Consider in the family context obligations parties took on contractually that a judge could not have ordered otherwise.

By collaborating, clients may retain power to control their future relationships. They may think beyond binary legal positions. They may expand options for settlement and achieve outcomes unavailable to them in other processes.

FAQs about Florida Collaborative Divorce: https://t.co/p4eTjfCfAh.

For more resources about the Collaborative Process and Allied Professionals throughout Florida, visit regional @CollaborateFACP groups:

◉ Brevard Collaborative Association
◉ Capital Collaborative Group (Tallahassee)
◉ Collaborative Divorce Professionals (Northwest Florida)
◉ Central Florida Collaborative Divorce (Orlando Area)
◉ @c Collaborative Family Law Group of Northeast Florida, Inc. (Jacksonville)
◉ Collaborative Family Law Institute (Miami)
◉ Collaborative Family Law Professionals of South Florida (Fort Lauderdale)
◉ @cpacflorida (Lakeland)
◉ Collaborative Professionals of Southwest Florida (Fort Myers)
◉ @NextGenDivorce (Tampa Bay)
◉ North Central Florida Academy of Collaborative Professionals (Gainesville)
◉ Palm Beach Academy of Collaborative Professionals (Palm Beach)
◉ Sarasota Collaborative Family Law Professionals (Sarasota)
◉ @ChooseCollab (South Palm Beach County)
◉ @TBCollabDivorce (Tampa Bay)
◉ Hispano Collaborative Professionals™ (HCP)

For more resources about the collaborative process and Allied Professionals in the US and in other countries, visit the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals.

For Collaborative civil matters, contact a member of the @law_collab.

Read more: Harness Collaborative Contract Power!
https://t.co/GsEYHKK9FF

For a statewide chart of enactment of the Uniform Collaborative Law Act, with links to their collaborative statutes or rules, see https://t.co/zqjOUr80k0.

Photo by Ray Hennessy on @unsplash.

[SCL_Collaborate @SCL_Collaborate]

For a free calculator to help you and your collaborative team figure out the marital appreciation in premarital accounts, visit https://t.co/SPBUsOvEtY

Read more: commingling: How Mixing Assets Can Change Everything in a Florida Divorce at https://t.co/g4uwxON7jg

Another free calculator may help you and your collaborative team in Florida divorces figure out marital appreciation (enhancement) in real property one spouse owned before the marriage, post-Kaaa v. Kaaa, 58 So. 3d 867 (Fla. 2010). See https://t.co/tZcIi41LRm

A member of the @FamilyLawFla can help you figure out options for identifying, valuing, and dividing marital assets and for allocating premarital assets.

Consult a collaboratively trained Certified Financial Planner at the @CFPBoard or Certified Divorce Financial Analyst at the @InstituteDFA.

Find a collaborative financial professional at the @CollaborateFACP.

Video source: @Andrey3dp on @pixabay.

#calculator #maritalassets #commingling #divorce #floridadivorce #CDFA

[SCL_Collaborate @SCL_Collaborate]

https://t.co/0txf8TA40S

[SCL_Collaborate @SCL_Collaborate]

🎺 Big news: Connecticut Adopts the Uniform Collaborative Law Act!

Today, July 8, 2025, Connecticut @GovNedLamont gave notice he has signed SB 1283, “An Act Concerning the Adoption of the Connecticut Uniform Collaborative Law Act,” Public Act No. 25-153.

Connecticut becomes the 28th jurisdiction (including the District of Columbia) to have adopted the Uniform Collaborative Law framework by statute or rule. On May 15, 2025, Oklahoma adopted the Uniform Collaborative Law Act (UCLA); in 2024, Kentucky and Louisiana did so, too, and Mississippi adopted the Uniform Collaborative Law Rule (UCLR).

For a statewide chart of enactment of the Uniform Collaborative Law Act, see https://t.co/zqjOUr80k0

The Connecticut leadership, including @ccsqrd, State Representative Melissa E. Osborne, @SteveStafstrom, @senatorduff, and @MattRitterCT, and witnesses, including @MSoboslai, Jill Bicks, and Elizabeth S. Thayer Ph.D., helped achieve this success.

Members of the @CcdgGroup and CCND: Connecticut Council for Non-Adversarial Divorce, who championed the Collaborative Process for dispute resolution, deserve thanks for their leadership in Connecticut.

Thanks, too, to the @uniformlaws and to many Collaborative law leaders have created, paved, and improved the Collaborative way. They, and many other collaborative leaders worldwide, have touched families - and thousands of collaborative practitioners - profoundly.

They include Paula Tesler of @Integrative_Law, Nancy Ross, Stu Webb, and, in no particular order, Peggy Thompson, Ph.D. (psy6780), Chip Rose, Donna J. Hitchens, Lawrence R. Maxwell, Jr., @ADR_Prof, @OuskyRon, @PeacemakerWoody, and the late Kevin Scudder.

They and MANY others persistently and resolutely have advanced the Collaborative movement for 35+ years in the US, Canada, and worldwide.

Photo by @pixabay.

[SCL_Collaborate @SCL_Collaborate]

🎺 Big news: Connecticut Adopts the Uniform Collaborative Law Act!

Today, July 8, 2025, Connecticut @GovNedLamont gave notice he has signed SB 1283, “An Act Concerning the Adoption of the Connecticut Uniform Collaborative Law Act,” Public Act No. 25-153.

Connecticut becomes the 28th jurisdiction (including the District of Columbia) to have adopted the Uniform Collaborative Law framework by statute or rule. On May 15, 2025, Oklahoma adopted the Uniform Collaborative Law Act (UCLA); in 2024, Kentucky and Louisiana did so, too, and Mississippi adopted the Uniform Collaborative Law Rule (UCLR).

For a statewide chart of enactment of the Uniform Collaborative Law Act, see https://t.co/zqjOUr80k0

The Connecticut leadership, including @ccsqrd, State Representative Melissa E. Osborne, @SteveStafstrom, @senatorduff, and @MattRitterCT, and witnesses, including @MSoboslai, Jill Bicks, and Elizabeth S. Thayer Ph.D., helped achieve this success.

Members of the @CcdgGroup and CCND: Connecticut Council for Non-Adversarial Divorce, who championed the Collaborative Process for dispute resolution, deserve thanks for their leadership in Connecticut.

Thanks, too, to the @uniformlaws and to many Collaborative law leaders have created, paved, and improved the Collaborative way. They, and many other collaborative leaders worldwide, have touched families - and thousands of collaborative practitioners - profoundly.

They include Paula Tesler of @Integrative_Law, Nancy Ross, Stu Webb, and, in no particular order, Peggy Thompson, Ph.D. (psy6780), Chip Rose, Donna J. Hitchens, Lawrence R. Maxwell, Jr., @ADR_Prof, @OuskyRon, @PeacemakerWoody, and the late Kevin Scudder.

They and MANY others persistently and resolutely have advanced the Collaborative movement for 35+ years in the US, Canada, and worldwide.

Photo by @pixabay.

[SCL_Collaborate @SCL_Collaborate]

Parenting disputes across borders can be tough, especially when one parent claims the other wrongfully took their child to another country.

Did you know there are defenses under the Hague Convention that could change the outcome?

The Consent or Acquiescence defense says a court may not order a child’s return if the parent left behind agreed to the move beforehand (consent) or accepted it afterward (acquiescence).

It all depends on what that parent intended—did they okay the child’s staying in the new country? Courts look at things like formal statements, written agreements, or even if the parent delayed too long in speaking up (unless the child was hidden).

Learn more about the second defense and five other defenses at: https://t.co/qaOWGHWWDr.

True, parents may raise legal claims and defenses in multinational jurisdictions. Or, they may consider other ways to resolve their disputes. Like the Collaborative Process.

The Collaborative Process can facilitate a global resolution not only of the Hague Convention claims of the left-behind parent, but also the underlying custody claims. Collaborative lawyers, financial professionals, and mental health professionals throughout the world can assist families to resolve among the most thorny and emotionally-packed issues.

Photo by @Docusign on @unsplash.

#HagueConvention #InternationalParenting #childabduction #parentalkidnapping #collaborativeprocess #ConvencióndeLaHaya #ConvenzionedellAia #convençãodehaia

[SCL_Collaborate @SCL_Collaborate]

The Florida Legislature amended Section 61.122, Florida Statutes, effective July 1, 2025, clarifying the process for disqualifying court-appointed psychologists in family law cases (e.g., divorce, domestic violence, paternity). Key changes from Ch. 2025-80, signed May 22, 2025:

▸ Parents can file supplemental legal action against a court-appointed psychologist without first moving to disqualify them in the underlying case.

▸ To file an administrative complaint, parents must first seek disqualification in the family law case and request a new psychologist. The Florida Department of Health (DOH) investigates complaints against and reports about healthcare providers, including licensed psychologists, and enforces laws and regulations pertaining to their profession.

▸ Two-way attorney fee shifting (fees to the prevailing party) applies in supplemental legal actions against psychologists, but not in the underlying family law case.

Florida law continues to authorize social investigations for parenting plans by qualified court staff, licensed child-placing agencies, psychologists, clinical social workers, marriage and family therapists, or mental health counselors. Parenting plan recommendations remain nonbinding, made by court-appointed professionals.

Details: https://t.co/usPQWhjwWX

Find a licensed Florida psychologist at the @FlaPsychAssoc.

Talk with a Florida collaborative mental health professional at the @CollaborateFACP.
⠀⠀⠀
#childrensmentalhealth #childsmentalhealth
#sharedparentalresponsibility #mentalhealth #collaborativedivorce #parentingplans #socialinvestigations

[SCL_Collaborate @SCL_Collaborate]

https://t.co/0U3VHsA46S

[SCL_Collaborate @SCL_Collaborate]

In Florida, mixing premarital assets with marital assets—called commingling—can turn your separate property into shared property. It can change how your assets are divided in a divorce.

Read more: commingling: How Mixing Assets Can Change Everything in a Florida Divorce. Available at https://t.co/g4uwxON7jg.

A member of the @FamilyLawFla can help you figure out options for identifying, valuing, and dividing marital assets and for allocating premarital assets, even when there's been some commingling.

Consult a collaboratively trained Certified Divorce Financial Analyst at the @InstituteDFA or Certified Financial Planner at the @CFPBoard.

Find a collaborative financial professional at the @CollaborateFACP.

#maritalassets #commingling #divorce #floridadivorce #cdfa #financialplanning #prenups