Collaborative Divorce Florida
Protect Your Future,
Reduce the Chaos
Ending a marriage is hard enough. The process you choose should not create more damage than the divorce itself.
Collaborative divorce gives Florida couples a private, structured way to resolve parenting, property, and financial decisions without immediately turning those choices over to a judge. With the right legal strategy and professional team, you can work toward resolution without burning down your life in the process.
At Leap Frog Divorce, we help clients understand whether collaborative divorce is the right path for their family and when a different strategy may be needed
A Smarter Way Through Divorce
Not every case needs to become a fight. We help you explore resolution where possible—and prepare you when it’s not.
Is Collaborative Divorce Right For You?
Collaborative divorce may be a good fit if:
- You and your spouse both want to avoid unnecessary court conflict, even if you still have important issues to resolve
- You want a more private setting for conversations about parenting, finances, support, and property
- You have children and want the divorce process to support stability instead of escalating tension
- You want to stay involved in the decisions that shape your future instead of leaving them entirely to the court
- You are concerned that prolonged fighting could consume money, time, and emotional energy your family needs elsewhere
- You want to protect what you have built without burning down the rest of your life in the process
- You want an attorney who can protect your interests without making conflict the strategy
- You want direct attention from a divorce-focused team that knows your name, your goals, and what you need to protect from day one
What To Know
Collaborative Divorce In Florida
Collaborative divorce is not simply an agreement to be cooperative. Florida law formally recognizes the collaborative law process for family matters, including divorce, parenting issues, property division, alimony, child support, and related disputes. When the process leads to a final agreement, that agreement can be filed with the court and incorporated into the final judgment.
01.
Each Spouse Has Their Own Attorney
In a collaborative divorce, both spouses have independent legal representation. That matters because you are still making legally significant decisions about your finances, children, property, and future. The process is cooperative, but each person still needs their own guidance and an attorney to advocate for their interests.
02.
Participation Agreements Are Required
The process starts with a written participation agreement. Both spouses and both attorneys agree to work outside of court, exchange information openly, and participate in good faith.
The agreement also matters because if the collaborative process ends and the case moves into litigation, the spouses need to hire new attorneys for the court process.
03.
Confidentiality Is Protected By Law
Collaborative divorce is designed to make difficult conversations more productive. Communications made during the process are generally protected, which can help spouses discuss sensitive financial and family issues without treating every conversation like future courtroom evidence.
04.
Full Financial Disclosure Is Required
A collaborative divorce depends on transparency. Both spouses must provide complete financial information, including income, assets, debts, expenses, and other relevant records. Without a clear financial picture, no one can make informed decisions.
05.
Attorneys Are Only Part Of Your Team
The collaborative process can include more than lawyers. Depending on the case, the team may involve a neutral financial professional, facilitator, communication coach, child specialist, divorce coach, or business valuation professional. The goal is to bring the right support to the issues most likely to affect your family’s future.
Why Couples Choose Collaborative Divorce
Divorce can become expensive and emotionally draining when every decision turns into a fight. Collaborative divorce is built around a different idea: when spouses have the right structure, information, and support, they may be able to resolve major issues with less damage to their finances, privacy, and family relationships.
What it means for you, in practical terms:
More Privacy
Collaborative divorce happens in private meetings rather than public courtroom hearings. That can help keep your financial details, parenting concerns, and personal family matters between you, your spouse, and the professionals helping you resolve them.
More Control
When a divorce is litigated, a judge may make decisions based on limited time and limited information. Collaborative divorce gives you and your spouse more room to shape an agreement around your actual children, finances, schedules, and goals.
More Freedom
A collaborative process can help you move forward without spending months or years locked into unnecessary conflict. While no timeline can be guaranteed, this approach is designed to reduce the delays and escalation that often come with contested litigation.
More Peace
Collaborative divorce does not mean every conversation is easy. It means the process is built to keep conflict from derailing settlement efforts. With structure, guidance, and the support of the professional team (which includes the attorneys), many families can make better decisions and create a more stable transition for their children.
Key Issues
Decisions That Shape a Collaborative Divorce
Parenting Plans and Time-Sharing
Child Support
Spousal Support (Alimony)
Equitable Distribution of Marital Assets and Debts
Business Valuation and Division
Retirement, Tax, and Long-Term Financial Planning
A Smoother Divorce Starts With the Right Attorney
Collaborative divorce requires more than a willingness to be civil to each other. When everything is on the line, you deserve an attorney who does one thing—divorce—and understands the law, the collaborative process, negotiation, and the emotional pressure people are under when the future feels uncertain.
Not every family law attorney is prepared for that balance. An attorney who is too passive may allow important concerns to get brushed aside. An attorney who is too combative may damage the trust and structure the process needs to work. Either approach can cost you.
The right collaborative divorce attorney helps you identify what must be decided, what information still needs to be gathered, where compromise may be reasonable, and where your interests need firmer protection.
At Leap Frog Divorce, we approach collaborative divorce as a strategic process, not a soft one. We help Florida clients pursue calmer resolution while keeping parenting, financial, and long-term consequences at the center of every decision.
How It Works
The Collaborative Divorce Process, Step By Step
01.
Initial Consultation
We start by understanding your marriage, your goals, your children, your financial picture, and the concerns that may affect whether collaborative divorce is the right fit.
02.
Signing the Participation Agreement
Both spouses and both attorneys sign a written agreement committing to the collaborative process. This includes working outside of court, sharing information openly, and understanding the disqualification provision if the process later breaks down.
03.
Building Your Professional Team
Each spouse has their own collaborative attorney. Depending on your situation, the process may also include a neutral financial professional, mental health professional, divorce coach, child specialist, or business valuation specialist.
04.
Information Gathering and Disclosure
The team gathers and organizes the information needed to make informed decisions. That may include financial records, income information, asset and debt documents, parenting details, and other information specific to your divorce.
05.
Joint Negotiation Meetings
You and your spouse meet with the support of your collaborative team to work through the issues in a structured setting. The focus is on productive problem-solving, not courtroom positioning.
06.
Settlement Agreement and Final Judgment
When agreements are reached, your attorneys prepare the marital settlement agreement and file the required documents with the court. Once approved, the court enters a final judgment of dissolution and the divorce becomes final.
What If The Collaborative Process Hits A Wall?
Collaborative divorce is built to resolve difficult issues, but that does not mean every issue resolves quickly. A spouse may become less cooperative. A financial concern may surface. A parenting dispute may need more support. A business valuation, relocation question, or hidden asset concern may require additional professional attention.
When problems appear, the process can often adapt. A forensic accountant can review suspicious financial activity. A valuation specialist can address a business or professional practice. A child specialist can help parents stay focused on the children’s needs. The team can expand when the case calls for more structure.
If communication breaks down, the team can pause, reset, and try to move the process forward with added support. Sometimes a coaching session, facilitator meeting, or clearer agenda helps get the case back on track.
If the collaborative process formally ends, Florida’s disqualification provision means both collaborative attorneys must withdraw before litigation begins. Each spouse then needs new counsel for court. That is one reason it is important to take the process seriously from the start.
Collaborative divorce is flexible, but it is not limitless. We help you understand when the process is still productive, when it needs adjustment, and when a different legal strategy may be necessary.
The Leap Frog Approach To Collaborative Divorce
Leap Frog Divorce focuses on family law and divorce only. We are not handling criminal cases, personal injury matters, immigration cases, or real estate closings on the side. Our work is centered on helping people move through divorce and divorce-related issues with strategy, steadiness, and clear legal guidance.
Our team has been trained in collaborative divorce, family mediation, and dispute resolution, and has the experience to recognize when collaboration is no longer the right path.
A.J. and Kiki Grossman both earned Master of Laws from the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine Caruso School of Law, internationally recognized as one of the top law-school-based conflict resolution programs in the country. A.J. brings courtroom experience and Florida Supreme Court certification as a Family Mediator. Kiki brings corporate conflict resolution experience as Lead Conflict Resolution Specialist. Banda Nadeau brings her own wealth of experience as an advanced collaborative divorce practitioner and Florida Supreme Court certified Family Mediator. Together, they bring a broad and rooted understanding of both conflict and resolution to collaborative divorce cases.
Our process rests on three ideas:
Your Life, Your Divorce
We begin by listening. You are not a case number here. Before we recommend a strategy, we want to understand what your life looks like, what you are trying to protect, and what would help you feel more stable on the other side of divorce.
On Your Side
Our collaborative divorce attorneys build and execute a strategy around your priorities while working with the professional team to reduce unnecessary friction. You get direct attention from a divorce-focused team that understands your goals from day one, so resolution never comes at the expense of your interests.
Start the Next Chapter
Our goal is to help you move forward with confidence, clarity, and stability. Divorce is a major transition, but the right process can help you stop reacting to the past and begin preparing for what comes next.
Testimonials
Legal Excellence Through Client Experiences.
Our clients’ words reflect what matters most to us: clarity, trust, and guidance through one of life’s hardest transitions.
Our Team
Meet Your Leap Frog Divorce Team
A.J. Grossman III
Attorney at Law • Certified Family Mediator
A.J. Grossman III
Attorney at Law • Certified Family Mediator
Kiki Grossman
Lead Conflict Resolution Specialist • Attorney at Law
Kiki Grossman
Lead Conflict Resolution Specialist • Attorney at Law
Banda Nadeau
Attorney at Law • Certified Family Mediator
Banda Nadeau
Attorney at Law • Certified Family Mediator
April Phillips
Litigation & Trial Paralegal • Certified Guardian Ad Litem
April Phillips
Litigation & Trial Paralegal • Certified Guardian Ad Litem
Brett Castro
FRP, Discovery Specialist
Brett Castro
FRP, Discovery Specialist
Brianna Hendricks
Legal Assistant
Brianna Hendricks
Legal Assistant
Frequently Asked Questions About Collaborative Divorce In Florida
What is collaborative divorce?
Collaborative divorce is a structured legal process that allows spouses to resolve divorce issues outside of traditional litigation. Each spouse has their own attorney, and the team may also include neutral professionals who help with financial, parenting, communication, or valuation issues.
The purpose is to reach a private, informed agreement with less unnecessary conflict.
Is collaborative divorce the same as mediation?
No. Mediation is conducted by a neutral mediator who helps spouses and their lawyers negotiate and communicate. Collaborative divorce is a team-based process where each spouse has their own attorney and may work with additional professionals throughout the case.
Both options can be useful. The right path depends on the complexity of the divorce, the level of conflict, and the amount of structure the spouses need.
How long does collaborative divorce take in Florida?
Cases proceed as the spouses decide, so there is no one answer to this question. That’s the beauty of the process. It is not dependent on a court calendar. Pacing depends solely on how quickly or how slowly the spouses want to progress.
Do both spouses need their own attorney?
Yes. Each spouse needs their own collaborative divorce attorney. That allows both people to receive independent legal advice while still working within a resolution-focused process.
One attorney cannot represent both spouses in a divorce.
Is collaborative divorce private?
Collaborative divorce is generally more private than litigation because the detailed discussions take place outside of open court. Florida law also provides confidentiality protections for collaborative law communications, with certain exceptions.
This privacy can be especially important when the divorce involves children, business interests, high-value assets, or sensitive family concerns.
What if my spouse and I disagree on important issues?
Disagreement does not automatically mean collaborative divorce will fail. Many couples choose collaborative divorce because they have serious issues to resolve and want a more organized way to work through them.
The key question is whether both spouses are willing to “lean into” the discomfort of hard conversations, participate honestly, provide the necessary information, and keep working toward a resolution.Disagreement does not automatically mean collaborative divorce will fail. Many couples choose collaborative divorce because they have serious issues to resolve and want a more organized way to work through them.
The key question is whether both spouses are willing to “lean into” the discomfort of hard conversations, participate honestly, provide the necessary information, and keep working toward a resolution.
Is collaborative divorce a good fit for high-asset divorce?
It can be, depending on the spouses and the financial issues involved. High-asset divorce may include business ownership, real estate, investments, retirement accounts, tax concerns, and long-term financial planning.
Collaborative divorce can allow both spouses to work with neutral financial professionals and valuation experts, which may help create a clearer picture before decisions are made.
Can collaborative divorce work if there has been high conflict?
It can, with the right team and the right circumstances.
Some conflict is normal in divorce. Collaborative divorce can help structure difficult conversations and keep emotion from driving every decision.
However, if there is coercion, intimidation, domestic violence, hidden money, or a serious power imbalance, collaborative divorce may not be appropriate. We will talk through your circumstances honestly during your consultation.
Can I use AI for my divorce?
AI can be a helpful place to organize your thoughts or prepare questions, but it cannot understand the full picture of your marriage, your finances, your children, or your goals.
Be careful not to rely on AI for legal strategy or share private details in a prompt. For decisions that could affect your future, it is better to get guidance that fits your actual Florida divorce.
Take the Next Leap Forward
Talk To a Collaborative Divorce Attorney
When a relationship is ending, peace and stability matter more than ever. Collaborative divorce gives Florida couples a way to work through divorce without giving up privacy, control, or the chance to protect their children from unnecessary conflict.
Collaborative divorce may be the right path for your family. It may not be. The first step is understanding your options with a divorce-focused attorney who understands Florida divorce strategy and can help you think clearly about what comes next.
At Leap Frog Divorce, clients move through divorce with a process that is strategic, steady, informed by Florida law, and built around informed decisions.
Schedule a consultation today and get clarity on your next step.
