Collaborative Practice is designed for various participants including...

LGBTQ Community

LGBTQ couples and families have unique legal, emotional and financial issues that can be addressed creatively through the Collaborative process. In Collaborative Practice, lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgender people can work together in a private setting to focus on what matters most to them, and resolve their differences in a respectful process.

Collaborative practitioners work with same-sex couples to create divorce settlement agreements that reflect the needs, concerns and values of the entire family. The Collaborative team, which includes attorneys, mental health professionals, and financial professionals, provides a safe, supportive and personalized process for couples to work together to make decisions tailored to their family’s needs and goals.

In the historic 2015 Supreme Court decision, Obergefell v. Hodges, the court legalized same-sex marriage in all 50 states. New York has legally recognized same-sex marriage since 2011.

While divorce for same-sex couples is legal in New York, there are important differences for same-sex families. For example, when same-sex couples have children together, legal issues related to the ways in which the family is formed; the legal parentage status; second parent/stepparent adoption; and the emotional concerns of restructuring non-traditional families, are all issues unique to same-sex marriage and divorce. The Collaborative process can be particularly helpful to same-sex couples to address these issues in a safe and confidential setting, without court and the potentially uncertain and unjust outcomes.