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Although attorneys often become the “entry point” into Collaborative Practice, a financial neutral or neutral mental-health professional can be the professional who first brings the couple into the Collaborative process.

Neutrals need to make a marketing paradigm shift.  Instead of marketing, “I provide financial services to people whose attorneys have already hired me for Collaborative cases." You can say, “If you and your spouse are considering divorce and want to explore a non-adversarial process, you can begin by meeting with me to learn how Collaborative Divorce works and whether a Collaborative team might be appropriate for your situation.”

A financial neutral has a particularly natural entry point because people often seek financial advice before they have retained lawyers. Potential marketing messages include:

• “How will we afford two households?”
• “What will happen to our retirement accounts?”
• “Can either of us afford to keep the house?”
• “How do we divide a business?”
• “What will our post-divorce cash flow look like?”
• “How can we understand our financial options before deciding whether to litigate?”

The financial neutral doesn't answer the legal question of what a court would award. Instead, the neutral can help the couple understand the financial landscape and possible scenarios, then work with the attorneys to incorporate legal considerations.

Mental-health professionals have a different, and potentially powerful entry point. A neutral mental-health professional can encounter couples before they ever contact a divorce lawyer. For example, someone may come to the professional saying, “We're thinking about separating, but we don't want to destroy our family.”

The professional can explain, “There are several ways to restructure a family relationship. One option is Collaborative Practice, in which each of you has your own attorney, while neutral professionals help with the financial, communication and family-system issues.”

This allows the mental-health professional to introduce Collaborative Practice without telling the client whether they should divorce or what legal outcome they should seek.

The mental-health professional can also identify whether the couple's communication patterns, conflict level, safety concerns, or other circumstances make Collaborative Practice potentially appropriate or whether another process should be considered.

Develop a “neutral-first” referral network. Instead of waiting for attorneys to send cases, neutrals can develop referral relationships with therapists, marriage and family therapists, divorce therapists, CPAs, financial planners, wealth managers, estate-planning attorneys, mortgage professionals, real-estate professionals, physicians and other professionals who encounter families in transition.

The referral message should be process-oriented, rather than “send me divorcing clients.”

Are you a neutral looking to start Collaborative cases?  Do you already serve as an entry point for cases?  Join us on Friday at 1 p.m. Eastern for The Think Tank, a Collaborative discussion group helping professionals become better Collaborative Practitioners.