Making Divorce Work: Teaching a Mental Health/Legal Paradigm to a Multidisciplinary Student Body

Abstract

Divorce takes both a financial and an emotional toll on all involved. Although not technically "parties" to the divorce (a distinction without a difference that this article will explore in detail), children suffer just as dramatically as, and often more so than, their parents, albeit in different ways. Children of divorce are statistically more likely to be insecure, unstable, or unhappy in their lives; have more difficulty in school or leave school; and engage in more underage and later adult drinking, drug use, and illicit sex. Although not all of these numbers are statistically large when compared to children raised by two parent families, studies have found that children of divorce are nonetheless twice as likely overall to have emotional, academic, and delinquency problems. More telling, children of bitter divorce (those marked by extensive and/or continuing litigation and anger between the parties) generally fare worse in all of these aspects.

While this article focuses on the benefits of collaborative and cooperative approaches to divorce and the associated emotional benefits specifically, it must be noted that much of the dissension and anger in a divorce can originate from many areas, including the loss of family income and the cost of the divorce itself. Exceptionally high numbers of litigants are choosing pro se representation, due both to the cost of attorney representation and to the public perception, right or wrong, that attorneys will somehow make things worse, rather than better. It is not inconceivable that parties who would benefit from representation are choosing to forego it, and those who do use attorneys are liable to settle precipitously in an effort to avoid ever escalating costs.

Part I of this article examines the differences in collaborative and cooperative law, including the history of their uses in this and other nations. This section also addresses application of collaborative/cooperative methods to law school curricula, especially in the teaching of family law courses. This article does not offer an in-depth analysis of the types of collaborative and/or cooperative law, but focuses more specifically on the practical aspects of the application of these movements. Part II spotlights the failures of the litigation model via a review of specific cases and evaluates how the application of collaborative and/or cooperative law would affect similar cases, including a discussion of financial, emotional, and societal improvements. Part II and the conclusion consider how to change the mindset of the courts, the attorneys (both practicing and future), and the public for the betterment of all and will concentrate on Florida's newly-instituted Unified Family Court system.

Keywords: Divorce, collaborative, cooperative, marriage, children of divorce, emotional toll, financial toll, emotional benefits, academic problems, delinquency, consequences, parents, children, family, pro se, litigation, Florida, Unified Family Court