The Pennsylvania Collaborative Law Act is Signed
Today, August 27, 2018, marks the official effective date of The Pennsylvania Collaborative Law Act, codified as 42 Pa.C.S. §74, which was signed into law by Gov. Tom Wolf on Thursday, June 28, as Act 55 of 2018.
Although widely recognized by the Pennsylvania legal community for well over a decade (and longer in other jurisdictions), The PA Collaborative Law Act establishes the practice of Collaborative Law by statute and legitimizes this form of alternative dispute resolution, which aims to keep families out of Court.
Through the Collaborative Law Process, couples in conflict can choose to resolve their disputes in a respectful, time-efficient manner, whereby agreements are entirely customized to meet their specific needs and goals. This is accomplished through a team approach, which includes each party retaining their own trained collaborative attorney and may include other trained professionals, such as divorce coaches or financial neutrals, all of whom are engaged for the sole purpose of settlement negotiations. Although the PA Collaborative Law Act is written in the context of family law related matters, the process can be used for other types of disputes as well.
Liberty J. Weyandt, who is Chair of Family Law at The Lynch Law Group and Co-Chair of the Allegheny County Bar Association Collaborative Law Committee, as well as a founding member of the Collaborative Law Association of Southwest Pennsylvania has been practicing Collaborative Law for more than 11 years. Ms. Weyandt recently spoke with Tim Grant of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette about the PA Collaborative Law Act process. Read Grant’s article, No judge needed: Pa. law gets behind collaborative divorces.
Pittsburgh Family Law Attorneys
Liberty J. Weyandt, Esquire is Chair of the Family Law Practice at The Lynch Law Group. Her practice is dedicated to assisting clients who are seeking solutions to complex family matters. Please contact Liberty at (724) 776-8000 or lweyandt@lynchlaw-group.com for more information about Collaborative Law or for information about other family law matters.
You can also learn more about Collaborative Law through the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals (IACP) at www.collaborativepractice.com and The Collaborative Law Association of Southwestern Pennsylvania at www.clasplaw.org.
