Florida collaborative practice 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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Florida Collaborative Family Law Rule of Procedure 12.745

RULE 12.745. COLLABORATIVE LAW PROCESS (a) Application. This rule governs all proceedings under chapter 61, part III, Florida Statutes. (b) Collaborative Law Process. (1) Initiating Process. (A) A collaborative law process begins, regardless of whether a legal proceeding is pending, when the parties sign a collaborative law participation agreement. (B) When a proceeding is pending before a court, the parties may sign a collaborative law participation agreement to seek to resolve a matter related to the proceeding. The parties shall promptly file with the court a notice of the agreement after it is signed and it shall operate as an application for a stay of the proceeding. A court in which a proceeding is stayed under this subdivision may require the parties and collaborative lawyers to provide a status report on the collaborative law process and the proceeding. The status report may only indicate whether the process is ongoing or concluded and no other information. The status report may not include a report, assessment, recommendation, finding, or other communication regarding a collaborative matter. A court shall provide notice to the parties and an opportunity to be heard before dismissing a proceeding, in which a notice of collaborative process is filed, based on delay or failure to prosecute. A court may not consider a communication made in violation of this subdivision. (2) Concluding and Terminating Process. A collaborative law process is concluded by: (A) the resolution of a collaborative matter as evidenced by a signed record; (B) the resolution of a part of the collaborative matter, evidenced by a signed record, in which the parties agree that the remaining parts of the matter will not be resolved in the process; (C) a party unilaterally terminating the collaborative law process, with or without cause, by (i) giving notice to other parties in a record that the process is ended, (ii) beginning a contested proceeding related to a collaborative matter without the agreement of all parties, or (iii) in a pending proceeding related to the matter: a. initiating a pleading, motion, order to show cause, or request for a conference with the court; b. requesting that the proceeding be put on the court’s active calendar; or c. taking similar action requiring notice to be sent to the parties; or (D) except as otherwise provided by subdivision (b)(3), a party discharging a collaborative lawyer or a collaborative lawyer withdrawing from further representation of a party. If a proceeding is pending before a court, the parties shall promptly file with the court notice in a record when a collaborative law process concludes. Any stay of the proceeding is lifted when the notice is filed. The notice may not specify any reason for termination of the process. (3) Discharge or Withdrawal from Representation. A party’s collaborative lawyer shall give prompt notice to all other parties in a record of a discharge or withdrawal. If a proceeding was pending prior to the initiation of the collaborative process, the party’s collaborative lawyer shall comply with the requirements of Florida Rule of General Practice and Judicial Administration 2.505. Notwithstanding the discharge or withdrawal of a collaborative lawyer, a collaborative law process continues, if not later than 30 days after the date that the notice of the discharge or withdrawal of a collaborative lawyer is sent to the parties: (A) the unrepresented party retains a successor collaborative lawyer; and (B) in a signed record: (i) the parties consent to continue the process by reaffirming the collaborative law participation agreement; and (ii) the agreement is amended to identify the successor collaborative lawyer and the successor attorney signs the participation agreement. (c) Approval of Interim Agreements. A collaborative law process does not conclude if, with the consent of the parties, a party requests a court to approve a written agreement resolving an issue in the collaborative matter while other issues remain pending. (d) Alternative Dispute Resolution Permitted. Nothing in this rule shall be construed to prohibit the parties from using, by mutual agreement, any other permissible form of alternative dispute resolution to reach a settlement on any of the issues included in the collaborative process. (e) Emergency Order. During a collaborative law process, a court may issue emergency orders to protect the health, safety, welfare, or interest of a party or a family or household member as defined in section 741.28, Florida Statutes. (f) Disqualification of Collaborative Lawyer and Lawyers in Associated Law Firm. (1) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (f)(3), a collaborative lawyer is disqualified from appearing before a court to represent a party in a proceeding related to the collaborative matter. (2) Except as otherwise provided in subdivisions (b)(3) and (c), a lawyer in a law firm with which the collaborative lawyer is associated is disqualified from appearing before a court to represent a party in a proceeding related to the collaborative matter if the collaborative lawyer is disqualified from doing so under subdivision (f)(1). (3) A collaborative lawyer or a lawyer in a law firm with which the collaborative lawyer is associated may represent a party: (A) to ask a court to approve an agreement resulting from the collaborative law process; or (B) to seek to defend an emergency order to protect the health, safety, welfare, or interest of a party, or a family or household member as defined in section 741.28, Florida Statutes, if a successor lawyer is not immediately available to represent that person, but only until the party or family or household member is represented by a successor lawyer or reasonable measures are taken to protect the health, safety, welfare, or interest of that person.

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Father and child walking on beach. Collaborative Divorce Forms

Florida Collaborative Divorce Forms

Collaborative Divorce, Jurisdiction and Procedure / Michael P Sampson

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. To download these Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure (updated July 2022) collaborative divorce forms, click on the linked title of the form: Florida Collaborative Divorce: Waiver of Filing Financial Affidavits Divorcing couples may file a joint waiver of filing financial affidavits, Florida Family Law Form 12.902(k). Even so, they 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) 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 Collaborative Law Process Act, §61.55 – 61.58, Florida Statutes

Collaborative Divorce, Jurisdiction and Procedure / Michael P Sampson

PART III, CHAPTER 61, FLORIDA STATUTESCOLLABORATIVE LAW PROCESS ACT 61.55 Purpose.61.56 Definitions.61.57 Beginning, concluding, and terminating a collaborative law process.61.58 Confidentiality of a collaborative law communication. 61.55 Purpose.—The purpose of this part is to create a uniform system of practice for the collaborative law process in this state. It is the policy of this state to encourage the peaceful resolution of disputes and the early resolution of pending litigation through a voluntary settlement process. The collaborative law process is a unique nonadversarial process that preserves a working relationship between the parties and reduces the emotional and financial toll of litigation.History.—s. 4, ch. 2016-93. 61.56 Definitions.—As used in this part, the term:(1) “Collaborative attorney” means an attorney who represents a party in a collaborative law process.(2) “Collaborative law communication” means an oral or written statement, including a statement made in a record, or nonverbal conduct that:(a) Is made in the conduct of or in the course of participating in, continuing, or reconvening for a collaborative law process; and(b) Occurs after the parties sign a collaborative law participation agreement and before the collaborative law process is concluded or terminated.(3) “Collaborative law participation agreement” means an agreement between persons to participate in a collaborative law process.(4) “Collaborative law process” means a process intended to resolve a collaborative matter without intervention by a tribunal and in which persons sign a collaborative law participation agreement and are represented by collaborative attorneys.(5) “Collaborative matter” means a dispute, a transaction, a claim, a problem, or an issue for resolution, including a dispute, a claim, or an issue in a proceeding which is described in a collaborative law participation agreement and arises under chapter 61 or chapter 742, including, but not limited to:(a) Marriage, divorce, dissolution, annulment, and marital property distribution.(b) Child custody, visitation, parenting plan, and parenting time.(c) Alimony, maintenance, and child support.(d) Parental relocation with a child.(e) Parentage and paternity.(f) Premarital, marital, and postmarital agreements.(6) “Law firm” means:(a) One or more attorneys who practice law in a partnership, professional corporation, sole proprietorship, limited liability company, or association; or(b) One or more attorneys employed in a legal services organization, the legal department of a corporation or other organization, or the legal department of a governmental entity, subdivision, agency, or instrumentality.(7) “Nonparty participant” means a person, other than a party and the party’s collaborative attorney, who participates in a collaborative law process.(8) “Party” means a person who signs a collaborative law participation agreement and whose consent is necessary to resolve a collaborative matter.(9) “Person” means an individual; a corporation; a business trust; an estate; a trust; a partnership; a limited liability company; an association; a joint venture; a public corporation; a government or governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality; or any other legal or commercial entity.(10) “Proceeding” means a judicial, an administrative, an arbitral, or any other adjudicative process before a tribunal, including related prehearing and posthearing motions, conferences, and discovery.(11) “Prospective party” means a person who discusses with a prospective collaborative attorney the possibility of signing a collaborative law participation agreement.(12) “Record” means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form.(13) “Related to a collaborative matter” means involving the same parties, transaction or occurrence, nucleus of operative fact, dispute, claim, or issue as the collaborative matter.(14) “Sign” means, with present intent to authenticate or adopt a record, to:(a) Execute or adopt a tangible symbol; or(b) Attach to or logically associate with the record an electronic symbol, sound, or process.(15) “Tribunal” means a court, an arbitrator, an administrative agency, or other body acting in an adjudicative capacity which, after presentation of evidence or legal argument, has jurisdiction to render a decision affecting a party’s interests in a matter.History.—s. 5, ch. 2016-93. 61.57 Beginning, concluding, and terminating a collaborative law process.—(1) The collaborative law process begins, regardless of whether a legal proceeding is pending, when the parties enter into a collaborative law participation agreement.(2) A tribunal may not order a party to participate in a collaborative law process over that party’s objection.(3) A collaborative law process is concluded by any of the following:(a) Resolution of a collaborative matter as evidenced by a signed record;(b) Resolution of a part of the collaborative matter, evidenced by a signed record, in which the parties agree that the remaining parts of the collaborative matter will not be resolved in the collaborative law process; or(c) Termination of the collaborative law process.(4) A collaborative law process terminates when a party:(a) Gives notice to the other parties in a record that the collaborative law process is concluded;(b) Begins a proceeding related to a collaborative matter without the consent of all parties;(c) Initiates a pleading, a motion, an order to show cause, or a request for a conference with a tribunal in a pending proceeding related to a collaborative matter;(d) Requests that the proceeding be put on the tribunal’s active calendar in a pending proceeding related to a collaborative matter;(e) Takes similar action requiring notice to be sent to the parties in a pending proceeding related to a collaborative matter; or(f) Discharges a collaborative attorney or a collaborative attorney withdraws from further representation of a party, except as otherwise provided in subsection (7).(5) A party’s collaborative attorney shall give prompt notice to all other parties in a record of a discharge or withdrawal.(6) A party may terminate a collaborative law process with or without cause.(7) Notwithstanding the discharge or withdrawal of a collaborative attorney, the collaborative law process continues if, not later than 30 days after the date that the notice of the discharge or withdrawal of a collaborative attorney required by subsection (5) is sent to the parties:(a) The unrepresented party engages a successor collaborative attorney;(b) The parties consent to continue the collaborative law process by reaffirming the collaborative law participation agreement in a signed record;(c) The collaborative law participation agreement is amended to identify the successor collaborative attorney in a signed record; and(d) The successor collaborative attorney confirms his or her representation of a party in the collaborative law participation agreement in a signed record.(8) A collaborative law process does not conclude if, with the consent of the parties, a party requests a tribunal to approve a resolution of a collaborative matter or any part thereof as evidenced by a signed record.(9) A collaborative law

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