Collaborative law or collaborative divorce is an alternative to the traditional divorce process in the court system—it is a process in which spouses hire attorneys to help dissolve the marriage by resolving differences through agreement rather than by litigation in court.

In collaborative law, the spouses try to come to agreements on the division of property, spousal support payments, child support payments, and child custody schedules—rather than the judge making these decisions by court order. Collaborative law is designed to reduce some of the more confrontational, destructive conflict in the divorce litigation process, while offering the spouses greater privacy and confidentiality in their personal lives.

The characteristic elements of collaborative law include:

• a written agreement signed by the spouses and their lawyers that no one will use or threaten to use the court process during the collaborative process

• each spouse has a lawyer and actively participates in all negotiations

• financial and other experts are retained jointly and are prohibited from working for the spouses if the spouses decide to use the litigation process

• neither lawyer can participate in any litigation against the other spouse after working as a collaborative lawyer on the matter

• the lawyers are terminated (“fired”) if the spouses decide to use the litigation process

Many states have laws that define the collaborative law process and give effect to the agreements made by the spouses. These laws are generally located in the state’s statutes—often in the family or domestic relations code.

In North Carolina, collaborative law is recognized as a legal alternative to traditional divorce litigation. This process, known as collaborative divorce, allows couples to work with their attorneys to negotiate the terms of their divorce, such as property division, spousal support, child support, and custody arrangements, without going to court. The key principles of collaborative law in NC include the signing of a participation agreement by both spouses and their attorneys, which stipulates that neither party will threaten or initiate court proceedings during the negotiations. Each spouse is represented by an attorney who cannot represent them in any future litigation if the collaborative process fails. Additionally, neutral experts may be jointly hired, but they are also precluded from participating in subsequent litigation. If the collaborative process breaks down, the attorneys involved must withdraw from the case, and the spouses must hire new attorneys if they choose to proceed with litigation. North Carolina's collaborative law process is designed to foster a cooperative, less adversarial approach to divorce, with an emphasis on privacy and reducing conflict.