Episode 68: Collaborative Divorce with Andrea Vacca

Last week we talked about mediation with Susan Guthrie. This week, as we continue Legal Month on the pod, we're exploring the concept of Collaborative Divorce with Andrea Vacca. Andrea Vacca is the owner of Vacca Family Law Group, a law firm in Manhattan that focuses exclusively on non-adversarial divorce and family law matters.

Andrea describes Collaborative Divorce as a team approach to divorce. And it is a legal process. The process includes creating a roadmap for your divorce and specifically details the jobs for each member of the team, including:

1. How you will be working together
2. The need for transparency and honesty
3. How the process will come to an end

When you're getting divorced, you're looking to the adults in the room to help you through it. Many times, the adults are litigators who are committed to an adversarial process. When that's the case, they may not be looking for what's best for you or your family.

And here's the thing: just because your marriage is ending, your family can remain intact. It may look different, but it doesn't have to be fraught with anxiety, or animosity.

Collaborative Divorce offers a way to bring respect to the divorce process and work with professionals who model the behavior you wish to express. In the end, everyone's going to be better off; you, your spouse, and most importantly, your children.

Show Highlights

• Collaborative Divorce - what the hell is it? (7:37)
• The difference between mediation and Collaborative Divorce (10:25)
• How Andrea came to work in Collaborative Divorce (11:00)
• Collaborative colleagues offer a different mindset to divorce (21:00)
• How to know whether you should meditate or do Collaborative Divorce (15:26)
• Andrea shares the story of her parents' divorce and how it affected her family (30:04)
• How to start a conversation about Collaborative Divorce with your spouse (40:00)
• What is positive psychology and how it plays into Andrea's work as a Collaborative professional (43:16)
• Collaborative Divorce can help high-conflict couples through the divorce process (48:00)

Learn More About Andrea Vacca:
Andrea Vacca is the owner of Vacca Family Law Group, a law firm in Manhattan that focuses exclusively on non-adversarial divorce and family law matters.

After practicing traditional, litigation-focused family law for many years, Andrea's firm now works only with clients who want to keep their divorces out of court and want their prenuptial and postnuptial agreements negotiated in a non-adversarial manner.

Andrea regularly lectures, writes and blogs on the topics of collaborative law, mediation, and topics related to non-adversarial family law.

In addition to having a B.A. and J.D, Andrea also has a Certificate in Positive Psychology and regularly applies what she has learned to help her clients navigate their divorces, including having a growth mindset, being resilient and encouraging mindfulness.

Andrea is the author of the recently published ebook Divorce Without Court: A More Peaceful Solution and is a co-author of the book, Onward & Upward: A Guide For Getting Through New York Divorce & Family Law Issues.

Resources & Links:

Andrea's website
Andrea on LinkedIn
Andrea on Facebook

Andrea on Instagram

Andrea on YouTube

Andrea's Blog

Sign up for Andrea's ebook, "Divorce Without Court" and my monthly newsletter

The Ultimate Divorce Survival Guide
Should I Stay or Should I Go Facebook Group