Is collaborative law still an option after a divorce is filed?

Some spouses, after the divorce petition has been filed, decide to try and work out their separation in a collaborative manner. Boulder family law specialist and divorce attorney Sara Ross explains that this is common, and it is normal to request that the divorce proceed collaboratively — most judges, she advises, will be willing to work out deadlines to accommodate this.

Sara Ross: “You can ask the court to do that. The one thing to keep in mind is that, with the deadlines that the court likes to keep … It really depends on which judge you have and what their docket looks like, but you can tell the court that you’d like to proceed collaboratively and see whether the court can give you more time. In some cases we’ve had judges be willing to extend a final hearing and have the parties have status conferences, and as long as the parties are making progress, the court tends to be pretty happy and let them proceed collaboratively, but it’s better to start out collaboratively if you can.”