--- title: "2026 Collaborative Law in California divorce" description: "Our next process is collaborative law or collaborative practice. You and your spouse, a mental health professional, a financial expert, and two attorneys, one for each of you, work together to reach an agreement using a “team approach”. The spouses and attorneys agree not to use any formal court procedures, like a judge, hearings, trials, or formal discovery..." url: https://thecompletedivorce.com/collaborative-law-in-a-california-divorce/ date: 2023-03-16 modified: 2026-06-03 author: "Dina Haddad" image: https://thecompletedivorce.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Talking-with-Your-Spouse-I-want-a-divorce.webp categories: ["Uncontested divorce"] tags: ["collaborative law"] type: post lang: en --- # 2026 Collaborative Law in California divorce Contents - [ Time ](#Time) - [ Cost ](#Cost) - [ Control ](#Control) - [ Difficulty level ](#Difficulty%20level) - [ At The Complete Divorce ](#at%20the%20complete%20divorce) Online Divorce Divorce smartly without a lawyer. Save yourself $10,000+. [ Start My Divorce ](https://buy.stripe.com/bJe8wO4Inbryg8y2Ar3ZK01) - 100% Legit Divorce Program # Collaborative Law Dina Haddad Founder & Attorney Mediator [ Facebook ](https://www.facebook.com/thecompletedivorce/) [ Linkedin ](https://www.linkedin.com/in/dinahaddad/) [ X-twitter ](https://twitter.com/MediatorDina) [ Youtube ](https://www.youtube.com/@divorcewithdina) [ Tiktok ](https://www.tiktok.com/@divorcewithdina) I’m Dina Haddad, a family law attorney-mediator in California. I’m so tired of couples not having a process that’s easy to complete their divorce. They are getting lost, wasting time and money, and beyond frustrated with their results.That’s why I created [The Complete Divorce](https://thecompletedivorce.com/). I took my successful mediation practice and condensed it into an affordable and winning program. ![Dina Haddad 1](https://thecompletedivorce.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Dina-Haddad-1.webp) [ View Profile ](https://thecompletedivorce.com/about-us/) Our next process is collaborative law or collaborative practice. You and your spouse, a mental health professional, a financial expert, and two attorneys, one for each of you, work together to reach an agreement using a “**team approach**”. The spouses and attorneys agree not to use any formal court procedures, like a judge, hearings, trials, or formal discovery. Communication between the couple and attorneys is more open. Your attorney can speak directly to your spouse, instead of just your attorney. And, unlike the public court process, collaborative is confidential. Collaborative law is used when couples mostly get along but would like the help of additional professionals to reach an agreement. Successful collaborative typically costs less and can be faster than litigation. ![Collaborative Law in California Divorce](https://thecompletedivorce.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Collaborative-Law-in-California-Divorce.webp) ## Time: First, time. The amount of time to reach a final agreement depends on your team’s efficiency. Unlike litigation, you’re not bound by court deadlines or procedures. You have the freedom to exchange information, schedule meetings with the team, and move toward agreements on your time table. The important part is to have a team that works well together so they can help you resolve conflict. Modernizing California Divorce Complete your divorce without a lawyer. Move forward with peace of mind and avoid court rejections through our fully-assisted DIY divorce program. This program is founded and led by California divorce expert, Dina. - Court-approved forms - Divorce Portal - Expert Webinars - 24/7/365 Support - The MSA - Parenting Plan $49.99/mo No hidden fee. Cancel anytime. [ Start Divorce ](https://buy.stripe.com/bJe8wO4Inbryg8y2Ar3ZK01) ![google icon](https://thecompletedivorce.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/google-icon.png)⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 2000+ California couples divorced. ## Cost: Second, cost. Collaborative law tends to be less expensive than litigation but more costly than mediation. You save money because you’re not using the complicated litigation process, but the cost of two lawyers, a mental health professional and a financial expert adds up. There’s also a huge risk in collaborative law. If unsuccessful, your attorney cannot represent you in court and must withdraw by law because of the confidentiality of the collaborative meetings. You’ll have to hire a new attorney to litigate. This will cost you more time and money. ## Control: Third factor, control. In collaborative, the team has the control. They work together to help you and your spouse reach an agreement. However, the control can easily be lost if the team doesn’t work well together. If one attorney has more say than another team member, that attorney’s influence on decisions could be greater than the team’s. If that’s not your attorney, you can be at risk. ## Difficulty Level: Fortunately, many collaborative law attorneys have close working relationships with each other, working well together. This makes it easier for you because the team is unified and interested in your success. Collaborative is also more informal. You don’t have to follow court rules and procedures. However, collaborative becomes difficult when there is a disagreement. Since you cannot use the judge to resolve disputes, if the professionals on your team can’t agree, you could get stuck. ## At The Complete Divorce At The Complete Divorce, we provide you with what you need to successfully do your California divorce on your own. We provide all the required family law court forms in our automated forms program, all the video tutorials, and an automated customizable Marital Settlement Agreement (Divorce Agreement). If you need more help, you can get our package that includes time with a divorce mediator. Before you go, consider if we can help you. We have helped thousands of couples in California. Our guided DIY divorce is successful and cheap! Our services are all 5-star! Need more? Check out our full-service divorce mediation services, Families First Mediation, [ffmediation.com](https://ffmediation.com) California premier divorce program. Making California divorce simple and lawyer-free. - Filing & Review Support - 1-on-1 Divorce Meeting - Child support calculations - MSA Filing Support ![google icon](https://thecompletedivorce.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/google-icon.png)⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 2000+ divorced without a lawyer.  [ Start Divorce ](https://buy.stripe.com/bJe8wO4Inbryg8y2Ar3ZK01) You may also be interested in [![Divorce mediation in California](https://thecompletedivorce.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/What-is-Divorce-Mediation.jpg)](https://thecompletedivorce.com/divorce-mediation-in-a-california/) [ What is Divorce Mediation in a California? ](https://thecompletedivorce.com/divorce-mediation-in-a-california/) In mediation, you and your spouse work with a mediator [ Read more » ](https://thecompletedivorce.com/divorce-mediation-in-a-california/) Dina Haddad March 16, 2023 [![Separate Property in a California Divorce - Property Division](https://thecompletedivorce.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/dividing-separate-property-in-a-CA-divorce.jpg)](https://thecompletedivorce.com/how-to-prove-your-separate-property-in-a-california-divorce/) [ Unveiling the Secrets: How to Prove Your Separate Property in a California Divorce ](https://thecompletedivorce.com/how-to-prove-your-separate-property-in-a-california-divorce/) Community and Separate Property in a California divorce can pose [ Read more » ](https://thecompletedivorce.com/how-to-prove-your-separate-property-in-a-california-divorce/) Dina Haddad March 15, 2023 [![Uncontested Vs Contested Divorce](https://thecompletedivorce.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Uncontested-Vs-Contested-Divorce.webp)](https://thecompletedivorce.com/contested-vs-uncontested-divorce-california/) [ Uncontested vs Contested Divorce: Which one is Right in 2026? ](https://thecompletedivorce.com/contested-vs-uncontested-divorce-california/) Learn the difference between uncontested and contested divorce in California, [ Read more » ](https://thecompletedivorce.com/contested-vs-uncontested-divorce-california/) Dina Haddad May 18, 2026 « Previous Page1 [Page2](https://thecompletedivorce.com/collaborative-law-in-a-california-divorce.md/page/2/) [Page3](https://thecompletedivorce.com/collaborative-law-in-a-california-divorce.md/page/3/) [Page4](https://thecompletedivorce.com/collaborative-law-in-a-california-divorce.md/page/4/) [Page5](https://thecompletedivorce.com/collaborative-law-in-a-california-divorce.md/page/5/) [Next »](https://thecompletedivorce.com/collaborative-law-in-a-california-divorce.md/page/2/)