Collaborative Divorce is a private, respectful way to end your marriage that keeps sensitive details out of the public record. Through a signed participation agreement, you and your spouse agree to strict confidentiality rules, protecting your financial, business, and personal information.
The Collaborative Divorce Participation Agreement
One of the main ways Collaborative Divorce protects your privacy is through the participation agreement. This is a formal document that you and your spouse, as well as members of the collaborative team sign at the start of the process. It includes rules about confidentiality and limits on disclosure. Only the information that goes into a legally enforceable separation agreement is shared.
In contrast, when you choose a traditional divorce, court filings become part of the public record. This means details about your finances, your business, and even personal disagreements may be accessible to anyone who looks. While it is possible to ask the court to seal certain documents, that request is rarely granted.
Avoiding Public Exposure
Collaborative Divorce allows you to avoid airing personal matters in open court. The participation agreement even prohibits posting about any part of the divorce process on social media. This keeps conversations and negotiations only between the people involved in your case.
This is especially valuable for high-net-worth couples or those who own businesses. In many cases, both spouses share the same interest in keeping business details private. Collaborative discussions happen in a confidential setting, and all settlement talks are covered by the participation agreement.
What Gets Filed in Court
At the end of the collaborative process, only the required information is filed with the court. In Canada, this typically includes the divorce judgment and any corollary relief orders that address parenting, child support, and spousal support. The full separation agreement, which contains additional personal, financial and business details, is not filed. This keeps the most sensitive terms private while still finalizing your divorce legally.
Protecting Your Privacy from Start to Finish
From the moment you begin, Collaborative Divorce is designed to protect your personal and financial information. By keeping discussions out of the courtroom and limiting what is filed with the court, you and your spouse maintain greater control over what becomes public.
Contact McNeill Family Law
If you are concerned about keeping your divorce private, the McNeill Family Law Firm in Calgary can help you explore whether Collaborative Divorce is right for you. We will work with you to protect your privacy while guiding you toward respectful, practical solutions. Call 587-956-9300 or contact us online to schedule a consultation.
McNeill Family Law is located at #200, 638 11 Ave S.W., Calgary, Alberta T2R
Beryl McNeill is a Calgary divorce lawyer who strongly believes mutual respect and understanding go a long way toward resolving family law matters. As a Registered Collaborative Law practitioner in Calgary, she has dedicated her firm to amicable, cooperative negotiation as a means for settling divorces. Furthermore, throughout her law career, Beryl has seen the costs of adversarial negotiations, both financial and emotional. In emphasizing the collaborative approach, Beryl offers her clients a more efficient model that preserves personal and monetary assets alike.
More and more individuals are attracted to resolving their family law matters in a civil, respectful way. Therefore, they come to Beryl from many walks of life—as professionals in the oil and gas industry and their spouses, business owners, and working spouses with children. Clients say that even after a single consultation with Beryl they feel less stressed and more clear about the way forward.
Beryl understands the often fearful, emotional early stages of divorce. Incorporating skills developed from her training as a life coach, Beryl helps clients move beyond their stress response to more logical, creative thinking. Once there, she works with clients to discover what’s truly important to them in attaining divorce. Furthermore, she encourages clients to picture what a successful settlement would look like a year or more down the road as a means of focusing on their goals. By educating and empowering clients, Beryl seeks to transform the way they resolve family disputes—in a more constructive, intelligent and amicable way than would be possible otherwise.
Finally, Beryl is very active with the Family Bar and the Collaborative Law Community. Her involvement provides her clients with the assurance that she has her finger on the pulse of Family Law in Alberta, offering them a distinct advantage in their quest for equity and civility.