Orange County and Los Angeles Collaborative Law Attorneys
We understand the stress and anxiety you are feelingSolving family law problems can be stressful. Your spouse may be exacting revenge on you. Every meeting or conversation may break down and become unproductive. Your efforts to deal with matters are seen as attacks by the other party. Under these circumstances, it may take weeks or months to resolve each issue. Breaking out of this negative cycle can be very difficult, and the emotional and financial costs may be significant.
There is a better way – Collaborative Law
At Hammers & Baltazar Family Law, we understand that divorce is difficult enough without the stress of adversarial proceedings. For many couples, there is a better way. The collaborative law approach to resolving family issues can be less expensive, faster and more likely to produce a result that both sides can accept. Our Santa Monica collaborative law attorneys are experts in the collaborative process. We are dedicated to helping you get through tough family problems with a minimum of pain and expense.
How the collaborative law process works
In collaborative law, each party is represented by an attorney trained in the collaborative process. Each attorney is barred from representing a client in litigation if the parties fail to reach an agreement outside of court. This motivates both the parties and the attorneys to stay with the process until a fair resolution can be reached. Other advantages of collaborative law include:
- Sharing expenses — You and your spouse can share neutral experts to determine financial and valuation issues, cutting the expense for this service in half.
- Professional coaching from a mental health professional — This allows you and your spouse to uncover underlying and unacknowledged issues that then may facilitate an agreement, develop parenting plans that will work best for you and your children, and work through issues that might otherwise prevent a resolution.
- Staying in control — The process puts full control in the hands of you and your spouse, not in overworked court officials.
- Privacy — Collaborative law protects your privacy. Most documents and information do not become part of the public record.
- Peaceful and productive interaction between you and your spouse — This helps shield your children from the trauma of divorce.
What you can expect
When you work with Hammers & Baltazar, LLP in your collaborative divorce, you can expect to transition your family with dignity and self-respect, knowing that you handled your separation from your spouse with integrity and with minimum impact on your family's financial and emotional well-being.
Mediation is another type of alternative dispute resolution (ADR). In mediation, individual parties may each be represented by an attorney, and a third-party neutral mediator guides the process. Find out more about divorce mediation.
Contact us
The attorneys of the law firm of Hammers & Baltazar are committed to using collaborative law to help clients resolve difficult problems. We belong to several collaborate law organizations, including the Los Angeles Collaborative Family Law Association and the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals.
If you have questions regarding collaborative law, we have the knowledge and experience to answer them. Our Santa Monica office is conveniently located near the Santa Monica Pier and the Third Street Promenade. Our Newport Beach office is located near Newport Bay and the Pacific Coast Highway. To contact us, call our Santa Monica office at 310-458-0796 or our Newport Beach office at 949-631-2805. We accept most major credit cards.
