Florida collaborative law Archives • Sampson Collaborative Law

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Uniform Collaborative Law Act (UCLA)

Please see the statewide chart of enactment of the Uniform Collaborative Law Act (UCLA), with links to state laws or rules. As discussed below (see History), Collaborative practice started in 1990, evolved, and grew. In 2010, the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws finalized the Uniform Collaborative Law Rules and Uniform Collaborative Law Act. Six years later, Florida joined 13 other states that had formalized the collaborative option to resolve divorces. Florida’s version in the Uniform Collaborative Law Process Act works with Florida’s Family Law Rule of Procedure 12.745, Florida’s Rule 4-1.19, Rules Regulating the Florida Bar, and the Florida Supreme Court’s collaborative divorce forms. UCLA: Recent State Adoptions New Mexico, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia followed suit. In 2021, Colorado and New Hampshire became the 21st and 22nd states (plus the District of Columbia) to adopt the Uniform Collaborative Law Act (UCLA). In 2024), Mississippi adopted the Uniform Collaborative Law Rule and Kentucky and Louisiana adopted the UCLA. This year (2025), Oklahoma and Connecticut adopted the UCLA. That means, by statute or rule, 28 jurisdictions – more than half the US – have adopted the UCLA. FEBRUARY 6, 2024: THE AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION APPROVES THE UNIFORM COLLABORATIVE PROCESS ACT In February 2024, the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association (ABA) recognized this continuing movement of states in the US to adopt the UCLA. The American Bar Association (ABA) House of Delegates adopted Resolution #703 on February 5, 2024: “RESOLUTION RESOLVED, that the American Bar Association approves the Uniform Collaborative Law Rules and Uniform Collaborative Law Act, promulgated by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws in 2010, as appropriate Rules or an appropriate Act for those states desiring to adopt the specific substantive law suggested therein.” ABA House of Delegates, Resolution No. 703, Adopted February 5, 2024 Designer History of the Collaborative Movement: Before the UCLA In 1990, the collaborative concept began as a spark, with one man. Veteran Minnesota family lawyer Stuart Webb admired when family law attorneys worked most creatively and effectively. That was in settlement, when they jointly solved issues, rather than argued positions. He realized, instead of warring in court, people could work with motivated professionals constructively and privately. The “collaborative” team could help couples resolve difficult family law problems. At the same time, California professionals were developing a team approach to resolving legal issues, including divorces. Great minds kept thinking and thinkers kept working. The spark and movement spread across Florida, the United States and worldwide. Now, 25,000 collaboratively trained lawyers, mental health, financial, and other professionals do collaborative work. They make up 200 collaborative practice groups across 24 countries. These professionals understand Collaborative contract power!

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Father and child walking on beach. Collaborative Divorce Forms

Florida Collaborative Divorce Forms

In 2020, the Supreme Court of Florida adopted collaborative divorce forms. See Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure Forms 12.985(a)-(g). See In Re Amendments to the Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure – Forms 12.985(a) – (g) (Collaborative Law Process), 345 So. 3d 1, Case No. SC19-1032 (Fla. October 14, 2020). These forms are for Florida couples like you who may be considering the collaborative process for your divorce. The forms generally guide lawyers newly engaged in the collaborative law process. In July 2017, Florida’s Collaborative Law Process Act, section 61.56, Florida Statutes, took effect. On May 18, 2017, the Supreme Court of Florida adopted Florida Rule of Family Law Procedure 12.745 and Florida Rule 4-1.19, Rules Regulating the Florida Bar. Read FAQs about Florida Collaborative Divorce and this Step-by-Step Overview of the Collaborative Divorce Process. Florida Collaborative Divorce Forms: Florida Family Law Forms 12.985(a) – (g) Florida’s collaborative divorce forms work with Florida’s collaborative law statute, procedural rule, and ethical rule. Click on the linked title to download these Florida Family Law of Procedure (updated July 2022) collaborative divorce forms: Florida Collaborative Divorce: Waiver of Filing Financial Affidavits Effective November 1, 2023, couples may file a joint waiver of filing financial affidavits, Florida Family Law Form 12.902(k). Even so, the parties must exchange the financial affidavits. If a parent is requesting child support, and the parents have waived filing financial affidavits with the court, they may file an affidavit of income for child support, Florida Family Law Form 12.902(l). Florida Family Law Rule of Procedure 12.285(c)(2), effective November 1, 2023, provides: (2) Upon agreement of the parties and filing of a notice of joint verified waiver of filing financial affidavits, the court shall not require that financial affidavits be filed. In the notice, both parties must acknowledge: (A) that evidence of their current or past financial circumstances may be necessary for future court proceedings; (B) they each have provided the other with a fully executed and sworn financial affidavit in conformity with Florida Family Law Form 12.902(b) or 12.902(c), as applicable; (C) that the responsibility to retain copies of all affidavits exchanged rests solely with the parties; (D) that the waiver only applies to the current filing and does not automatically apply to any future filings; and at any time. (E) that the waiver may be revoked by either party. In re: Amendments to Florida Supreme Court Approved Family Law Forms 12.902(k) and 12.902(l), 373 So. 3d 283 (Fla. October 23, 2023). Related Resources

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Collaborative Divorce – Rule 4-1.19

Collaborative Divorce, Jurisdiction and Procedure / Michael P Sampson

This article discusses Florida’s ethical rule for the collaborative law process in family law matters, including collaborative divorce. Florida’s Collaborative Law Process Act, section 61.56, Florida Statutes, took effect July 1, 2017. On May 18, 2017, the Supreme Court of Florida adopted Florida Family Law Rule of Procedure 12.745 and Rule 4-1.19, Rules Regulating the Florida Bar. Collaborative Divorce – Florida Rule Regulating the Florida Bar 4-1.19(a) – Duty to Explain the Process (a) Duty to Explain Process to Client. A lawyer must obtain the informed consent of a client in a family law matter before proceeding in the collaborative law process after providing the client with sufficient information about the collaborative law process, including, but not limited to, the following: (1) the material benefits and risks of using the collaborative law process to resolve a family law matter; (2) the nature and scope of the matter to be resolved through the collaborative law process; (3) alternatives to the collaborative law process; (4) that participation in the collaborative law process is voluntary and any client may unilaterally terminate the collaborative law process for any reason; (5) that the collaborative law process will terminate if any participating client initiates a proceeding or seeks court intervention in a pending proceeding related to the collaborative law matter after the clients have signed the collaborative law agreement; (6) limitations on the lawyer’s participation in subsequent proceedings imposed by family law court rules on the collaborative law process; and (7) fees and costs the client can reasonably expect to incur in the collaborative law process, including the fees of the lawyers, mental health professionals, and financial professionals. Collaborative Divorce – Florida Rule Regulating the Florida Bar 4-1.19(b) – Collaborative Participation Agreements (b) Written Agreement Required. A lawyer is prohibited from representing a client in the collaborative process in a family law matter unless all participating lawyers and clients sign a written agreement that includes: (1) a statement of the clients’ intent to resolve a matter through the collaborative law process under these rules; (2) a description of the nature and scope of the matter; (3) identification of the lawyers participating in the collaborative law process and which client(s) they represent; (4) that the clients will make timely, full, candid and informal disclosure of information related to the collaborative matter without formal discovery and will promptly update previously disclosed information that has materially changed; (5) that participation in the collaborative law process is voluntary and any client may unilaterally terminate the collaborative law process for any reason; (6) that the collaborative law process will terminate if any participating client initiates a proceeding or seeks court intervention in a pending proceeding related to the collaborative law matter after the clients have signed the collaborative law agreement; and (7) that the clients understand that their lawyers may not represent the clients or any other person before a court in a proceeding related to the collaborative law matter except as provided by court rule. Collaborative Divorce – Florida Rule Regulating the Florida Bar 4-1.19(c) – Duty to Address Domestic Violence (c) Duty to Address Domestic Violence. A lawyer must reasonably inquire whether a client has a history of any coercive or violent relationship with another party in a family law matter before agreeing to represent a client in the collaborative law process and must make reasonable efforts to continue to assess whether a coercive or violent relationship exists between parties in a family law matter throughout the collaborative law process. A lawyer may not represent a client in the collaborative law process in a family law matter and must terminate the client-lawyer relationship in an existing collaborative law process in a family law matter if the lawyer reasonably believes that the lawyer’s client has a history of any coercive or violent relationship with another party in the matter unless: (1) the client requests to begin or continue the collaborative lawprocess; and (2) the lawyer reasonably believes that the safety of the client can be protected during the collaborative law process. Florida Family Law Rules Committee Commentary COMMENT The collaborative law process involves the nonadversarial resolution of disputes through voluntary settlement procedures. Florida statutes and court rules permit collaborative law to resolve disputes in family law. Lawyers engaging in the collaborative law process in family law matters must comply with legislative and court requirements regarding the process. As part of this nonadversarial and voluntary resolution of disputes, lawyers who engage in the collaborative law process in a family law matter, and any other lawyers in that lawyer’s firm, may not afterwards represent any party in any related proceeding except to request that a court approve the settlement reached during the collaborative law process or in specified emergency situations in accordance with family law court rules. Before agreeing with the client to proceed in the collaborative law process in a family law matter, a lawyer should first consider whether a prospective client is an appropriate candidate for the collaborative law process and must provide the client with sufficient information regarding the benefits and risks of the process, including the lawyer’s limitations regarding subsequent proceedings. See also rules 4-1.4 and 4-1.2. To determine whether a client is a good candidate for the collaborative law process, the lawyer must inquire regarding any history of coercive or violent relationships with any other persons who would be parties to the collaborative law process in the family law matter. See also rules 4- 1.1 and 4-1.2. The lawyer also must provide the client with information about other reasonably available alternatives to resolve the family law matter, which may include litigation, mediation, arbitration, or expert evaluation. See also rule 4-1.4. The lawyer should assess whether the prospective client is likely to cooperate in voluntary discovery and discuss that process with the client. See rules 4-1.1 and 4-1.2. The lawyer should also advise the client that the collaborative law process will terminate if any party initiates litigation or other court intervention in the matter after signing a collaborative law agreement. Id. The lawyer

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Florida’s Collaborative Law System

Collaborative Divorce, Jurisdiction and Procedure / Michael P Sampson

Florida’s collaborative law system for collaborative divorce has four parts: a statute, a family law rule of procedure, an ethical rule, and Florida Supreme Court Approved Family Law Forms. Florida’s Collaborative Law Process Act, section 61.56, Florida Statutes, took effect July 1, 2017. On May 18, 2017, the Supreme Court of Florida adopted Florida Family Law Rule of Procedure 12.745 and Rule 4-1.19, Rules Regulating the Florida Bar. The Florida Supreme Court approved family law forms for collaborative divorce. They’re available here. Florida’s Collaborative Law System: Promoting Peace & Early Settlement The Florida Collaborative Law Process Act, rules, and forms create a uniform collaborative law system. This system encourages peacefully resolving disputes and settling litigation through early voluntary effort. For examples of fights between couples who didn’t collaborate, browse Florida family law cases since 2011 with this free case search tool. In addition to promoting peacefully resolving disputes, Florida’s collaborative law system promotes a future goal: Preserving parties’ working relationship. Parents often must work together after they divorce to raise their kids and make decisions together when they share parental responsibility. The Collaborative Process: Informed Consent As noted above, a key to Florida’s collaborative law system is its collaborative ethical rule. Under Rule 4-1.19, Rules Regulating the Florida Bar, your prospective lawyer team member must have your informed consent to resolve your matter using the collaborative method. Therefore, as you consider your options, expect that your prospective lawyer and you will discuss: the material benefits and risks of using the collaborative law process to resolve your family law matter; the nature and scope of the matter to be resolved; alternatives to collaborative (including do-it-yourself, mediation, or litigation); that participation in collaborative is voluntary and any client may unilaterally terminate the process for any reason; that the collaborative law process will terminate if, after signing the collaborative participation agreement, any participant initiates a court proceeding or seeks court intervention related to the collaborative law matter; limitations on the lawyer’s participation in subsequent proceedings imposed by family law court rules; and fees and costs you can reasonably expect to incur, including fees of the lawyers, mental health professionals, and financial professionals. Collaborative: Transparent Exchange of Information Another important key to Florida’s collaborative law system is a procedural rule, which promotes open sharing of important financial information. This means the collaborative process is transparent, which saves money parties who litigate spend: taking depositions, issuing subpoenas, fighting over requests for documents, and hearings to resolve discovery disputes. Collaborative: A Goal-Focused Process In litigation and mediation, divorcing couples focus on, assert, and often won’t budge from positions. The result? Drawn out court fights case summaries of which appear here. That’s true even when thinking about each person’s and the family’s goals might be better for everyone. But Florida’s collaborative system and rules create a process focused on and encouraging people to identify and work towards goals. First, a collaborating couple commits to resolve issues openly and with respect. Towards this end, they commit to listening and other communication guidelines. Next, the couple agrees not to take positions. Instead, they agree to focus on future needs and goals. The couple starts by identifying on a whiteboard their goals and interests and often find common ones. Consistent with these principles, Florida Family Law Rule of Procedure 12.745 states the couple will make timely, full, candid and informal disclosure of information. In collaborative matters, there’s no formal discovery. Clients must update important information when it changes. Read More About Florida’s Collaborative System and Rules Read the Supreme Court of Florida’s opinion adopting the collaborative rules at In Re Amendments to Rule Regulating Florida Bar 4-1.19, 218 So. 3d 440 (Fla. May 18, 2017) and amended January 4, 2019, effective March 5, 2019 at In Re Amendments to Rule Regulating Florida Bar – Biennial Petition, 267 So. 3d 891 (Fla. January 4, 2019). Uniform Collaborative Law Act (UCLA) The collaborative movement is global. Among its 2,700 members, the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals lists in its directory members from: Australia Austria Bermuda Brazil Canada France Germany Hong Kong Ireland Italy Japan Malaysia Netherlands New Zealand Panama Puerto Rico Singapore Spain Switzerland United Kingdom United States of America In the United States, Florida is among 28 jurisdictions (including the District of Columbia), that adopted the Uniform Collaborative Law Act or Rules. For a chart of state enactment, with links to various state collaborative laws, click here. In 2024, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Mississippi joined the movement. The movement surges on: in 2025, Connecticut and Oklahoma adopted the Uniform Collaborative Law Act. They became the 27th and 28th jurisdictions to have adopted the Uniform Collaborative Law Act or Rules.

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Collaborative Divorce: Dividing Retirement Accounts

Beneficiary Designations, Collaborative Divorce, Property Distribution / Michael P Sampson

The Challenge: In collaborative divorce, dividing retirement accounts can be tricky. Collaborative teams, usually with a neutral collaborative financial professional’s help, must often figure out premarital and marital components of retirement assets. How might the collaborative team approach the challenge? Premarital Accounts Calculator: One tool that may be useful as the collaborative team develops options for allocating the marital and nonmarital components of premarital individual retirement accounts (IRAs), investment accounts, and other plans: Florida Law on Marital and Nonmarital Retirement Assets: State law guides treatment of marital and nonmarital retirement assets. In Florida, marital assets include: The enhancement in value and appreciation of nonmarital assets resulting from either party’s efforts during the marriage, and The enhancement in value and appreciation of nonmarital assets resulting from the contribution to or expenditure on nonmarital assets of marital funds or other forms of marital assets, or both. See 61.075(6)(a)1.b., Florida Statutes. Marital assets also include all vested and nonvested benfits, rights, and funds accrued during the marriage in retirement, pension, profit-sharing, annuity, deferred compensation, and insurance plans and programs. See 61.075(6)(a)1.d., Florida Statutes. Nonmarital assets include assets acquired prior to the marriage and acquired in exchange for such assets. 61.075(6)(b), Florida Statutes. Valuation Dates: In divorce cases, judges may exercise discretion as circumstances require to determine the valuation date or dates for valuing assets as the judge determines is just and equitable under the circumstances. 61.075(7), Florida Statutes. Dividing retirement accounts is subject to the judge’s discretion. However, dates the judge selects may or may not achieve the divorcing couple’s individual or mutual interests. To take back control, collaborating couples may select dates for valuing and dividing retirement accounts they believe best reflect their agreement about fairness and best achieve their interests. Helpful Documents: To help the financial neutral and collaborative team, the retirement account owner should get statements showing (1) the balance of the retirement account closest to the date of marriage, (2) the balance on the date of separation, and (3) the balance currently. It would help to know the participant’s contributions to the account during the marriage. Dividing Retirement Accounts: Time Rule (Coverture) Fraction: Florida courts use a “coverture fraction” or formula to determine the marital portion of a retirement or pension fund. Parry v. Parry, 933 So. 2d 9 (Fla. 2d DCA 2006). This process identifies and allocates contributions a spouse made to an asset based on when the spouse made them. Example for Dividing Retirement Accounts in Collaborative Divorce. For example, suppose the asset being divided is a spouse’s interest in a 401(k) Plan. Consider if multiplying the coverture fraction, determined as of the date of separation, to the most current balance or the balance on a different date makes sense. To give the parties their fair share of ups and downs in the market since separation, determine the marital portion as of the agreed valuation date. This approach is consistent with case law. See Byers v. Byers, 910 So. 2d 336 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005) (Abuse of discretion to value husband’s 401(k) retirement account as of date of petition where asset passively appreciated nearly $70,000 between filing date and date of hearing). Dividing the Dough: Retirement Accounts Imagine a ball of unbaked dough. Split each party’s half of the marital dough ball as of the date of separation. Stick their portions in the fridge. Both portions will rise (or deflate). When it’s time to bake, each party gets his or her separated dough ball representing the marital piece. The participant gets an additional ball, plus the amount it has risen or deflated, reflecting premarital contributions. Calculate a “coverture” or “time rule” fraction. The numerator is the time the participant was married while participating in the Plan. The denominator is the total time the participant has in the Plan. To get a starting number of the marital value, multiply the fraction and the Plan’s current value (or, if the parties agree, value on a different date, such as their separation date). That will yield the total present value of the retirement fund accruing during the marriage. The rest is allocable to the participant as nonmarital. This piece would comprise the premarital balance contributed plus passive growth on that amount during the marriage. Collaborative Divorce: Couples May Consider Fair Options for Dividing Retirement Accounts. Now think about marital amounts net of joint expenses or debts paid with the marital portion of the retirement account. It would be fair for each to benefit from gains or losses through the account’s division. The parties may agree differently. In the usual case, the participant doesn’t actively manage the retirement plan of the employer, so there is no need to distinguish between enhancement from marital efforts and enhancement from passive forces, such as because of a bull market. In litigated cases when enhancement comprises both active and passive pieces, the spouse claiming entitlement to enhancement of premarital contributions is passive, therefore also nonmarital, bears the burden of showing market growth by proving a relevant index (e.g., an industry Standard & Poor’s 500 Index) for measuring growth. Unless there’s a basis for unequal distribution of marital assets, splitting 50-50 the marital pie would be fair, but, to achieve their goals, in the collaborative process, the parties may agree to split other than 50-50. Interesting Florida Case Law on Dividing Retirement Assets for Collaborative Practitioners: First District Schroll v. Schroll, 227 So. 3d 232 (Fla. 1st DCA 2017) – Sums diminished during dissolution proceedings for purposes reasonably related to the marriage – paying living expenses, attorneys, debts, moving expenses – should not be included in an equitable distribution scheme. Second District McNorton v. McNorton, 135 So. 3d 482 (Fla. 2d DCA 2014) – Without evidence of the composition of the retirement investments, the increase in a Standard and Poor’s index proved nothing. Horton v. Horton, 62 So. 3d 689 (Fla. 2d DCA 2011) – To determine the amount a retirement or pension fund accumulated during the marriage, the trial court “creat[es] a fraction where the numerator is the amount of time the employee was

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