FAMILY LAW Divorce without the drama

Divorce without the drama


Family Law
Brid Manifold

My marriage is over but I really can’t afford to do anything about it and I’m really worried about what will happen when I go to court. What should I do?

Not so long ago, after I left the family law courts having completed a divorce for a client, I bumped into my client and her now ex-husband enjoying a celebratory drink together in a local café. Unusual, but then, this couple did not have a normal divorce. They were one of the first couples in the Western Circuit to use the collaborative law process.
Collaborative law is a divorce process that allows couples sit together with their solicitors to work out a settlement that’s tailored to their individual family needs. Collaborative law was pioneered in the US, and hundreds of Irish solicitors have now been trained in the practice. It is a revolutionary method in which the solicitors themselves sign the same contract as the clients, committing not to take the case to court. If the process breaks down and the couple needs to resort to the courts, the solicitors bow out and lose their clients.
The solicitors are trained in mediation, so they are skilled at managing the very intense, often negative emotions that can accompany a relationship breakdown.
A good relationship between the two solicitors is also very important, and of course, very carefully structured meetings. If couples see they are making progress on some of the issues, they become confident that their viewpoints will be taken into account.
Unlike in the courts, a couple can design their own individual agreements to suit their family’s needs, especially in relation to their children. After all, they are the only two people who intimately know what will work best for their particular family.
Last but not least, the potential for saving on legal costs is obvious. All the work is done in the four-way meetings, with the length of the process determined by how quickly and co-operatively a couple can work together. This saves much time, money and heartache in the longrun.

Brid Manifold is a family-law solicitor and mediator based in Galway City. Her monthly columns will cover a range of family-law and mediation issues. Email your questions in confidence to Brid at familylaw@mayonews.ie.