Austin Collaborative Divorce

A Respectful and Effective Path Forward

Collaborative Divorce is a way to resolve a divorce entirely outside the courtroom: each spouse has their own attorney, and everyone commits up front to settling through a series of private, structured meetings. For many couples in Austin, the aim is not to win but to reach an agreement that protects their children, their finances, and their ability to co-parent in the years that follow.

It offers a structured, respectful alternative to litigation – one that lets you resolve differences privately and with dignity. Rather than leaving life-changing decisions to a court, you and your spouse keep control of both the process and its outcome, working toward agreements together with guidance from experienced collaborative professionals at Goranson Bain Ausley who keep each conversation focused on solutions and mutual interests rather than positions.

Below, you’ll find how the process works under Texas law, when it tends to be the right fit, and what to weigh before you begin – so you can decide whether it’s the right path for your family.

Goranson Bain Ausley has helped Austin families navigate Collaborative Divorce for more than two decades. Connect with our Austin office to talk through whether it’s the right fit for yours.

What is Collaborative Divorce?

Collaborative Divorce is a legal process designed to resolve divorce matters outside the courtroom. Both spouses, each represented by their own attorney, agree in advance to focus on shared goals and constructive problem-solving rather than adversarial positioning. The result is a confidential setting, with an emphasis on durable, long-term solutions – so couples can reach agreements that are practical and tailored to their family’s needs.

Collaborative Divorce is a structured process under Texas Law, Texas Family Code, Title 1-A, Chapter 15 – the Collaborative Family Law Act, which defines how the process works and the protections that apply to everyone involved. 

Depending on the needs of the family, the team may also include neutral financial and mental health professionals. These professionals do not advocate for either spouse. Instead, they help the family work toward informed, well-considered decisions. 

How the Collaborative Divorce Process Works in Austin

Knowing what to expect can ease a great deal of the uncertainty. Collaborative Divorce follows a clear, predictable path, and each stage is designed to keep you informed and in control of the decisions that shape your family’s future.

Step 1: Signing the Participation Agreement

The process begins when both spouses and both attorneys sign a Participation Agreement, a binding commitment to resolve every issue outside of court. The agreement defines each person’s role and establishes the ground rules for the process. It also requires the Collaborative attorneys to withdraw if the case later moves to contested court proceedings. This requirement encourages everyone involved to focus fully on reaching a resolution rather than preparing for litigation.

Step 2: Building the Team

Each spouse retains their own collaboratively-trained attorney for guidance and advocacy. Together, the couple jointly engages the neutral professionals the case calls for. These neutrals work for the process and for the family as a whole, not for either side, which keeps the conversation grounded and balanced.

Step 3: Structured Negotiation Meetings

Rather than one exhausting marathon session, the work unfolds across a series of shorter joint meetings, usually 90 to 120 minutes each. Meeting agendas are established in advance, and the financial information needed to make informed decisions is gathered and shared openly rather than through the formal discovery process used in litigation. 

Step 4: Reaching the Final Agreement

Once all issues related to property division, debts, support, child custody, and the parenting plan have been resolved, the terms are documented in a written settlement agreement. Because the agreement is developed through the collaborative process, it often reflects the family’s unique needs and priorities more closely than a court-imposed decision. 

Step 5: Filing with the Court

The signed agreement is submitted to the court as part of your final decree. Under Texas law, the court can finalize a divorce only after a 60-day waiting period that runs from the day the original petition was filed, so even a fully agreed-upon case follows that minimum timeline before the decree is signed.

When the process is complete, you leave with an agreement you both helped shape and a foundation for the next chapter.

What Happens If You Don’t Reach Agreement with a Collaborative Approach?

It’s a fair question to ask before you commit to the collaborative process, and understanding the answer is an important part of deciding whether it’s the right approach for your family. If either spouse decides to leave the collaborative process and pursue litigation, the rules require both collaborative attorneys to withdraw. Each spouse must then retain new counsel for the court proceedings. This is built into Texas law under Texas Family Code §15.106, and it applies to every Collaborative Divorce case in Texas. 

That rule can sound like a drawback, but it is the very thing that makes the process work. By taking the threat of court off the table, it gives everyone in the room, clients and attorneys alike, a shared stake in reaching an agreement, and it shifts the focus from staking out positions to solving problems together.

One important consideration is that if the collaborative process does not result in an agreement, retaining new litigation counsel can increase the overall cost of the case. Before beginning the process, your attorney will discuss whether Collaborative Divorce is well-suited to your goals and circumstances, so you can make an informed decision about the approach that’s right for you. 

When Collaborative Divorce May Be Right for You

Collaborative Divorce tends to be the right fit, and offers the most advantage over a courtroom, when you and your spouse both want to:

• Retain control over the decisions rather than leaving them to the court.
• Keep conflict to a minimum and preserve civility, which matters most when you’ll be co-parenting afterward.
• Protect your children from unnecessary stress.
• Find creative, tailored solutions to complex financial or parenting questions, rather than a one-size-fits-all order.
• Keep your financial and family details out of the public court record.
• Draw on a team of neutral financial and mental health professionals for expertise exactly where it’s needed.
• Direct time and resources toward reaching a resolution rather than preparing for trial.
• Build a foundation for productive co-parenting in the years ahead.

It asks for a genuine willingness to negotiate in good faith. You need not agree on everything, or even part on amicable terms, but both spouses should be committed to resolving matters at the table.

For some situations, a different approach serves you better. Where there has been family violence or coercion in the relationship, where one spouse may be concealing assets, or where the other party is already set on litigation, the Collaborative model may not be the right fit. Texas law also requires an attorney to make a reasonable inquiry into any history of family violence before a participation agreement is signed. If any of this reflects your circumstances, a consultation is the right place to talk through which path will protect you best.

Timeline and Efficiency

Most Collaborative Divorces are resolved in roughly four to six sessions, scheduled at a pace that works for both spouses. Because the process replaces drawn-out litigation and formal discovery with focused meetings, it often reaches resolution faster and with far less disruption than a contested case that waits on the court’s calendar.

Texas law sets a minimum timeline: A divorce cannot be finalized until at least 60 days after the original petition is filed, so even a fully agreed-upon case follows that minimum before the decree is signed. Within that framework, Collaborative Divorce gives you meaningful control over the timeline.

For how cost tends to track with that timeline, see our guide on how much a divorce costs in Texas.

Collaborative Divorce Compared to Mediation

Both Collaborative Divorce and mediation resolve a divorce without going to trial, which is why they’re so often confused. The difference is in how each one is structured.

In mediation, a single neutral mediator facilitates the negotiation between spouses. It can happen at almost any stage and is frequently used after a case has already been filed, sometimes at the court’s direction.

Collaborative Divorce works differently. There is no shared neutral guiding the talks; instead, each spouse has their own attorney at the table from the start. The process opens with a binding commitment to settle outside court and unfolds across a series of shorter, structured meetings that build in time to reflect before decisions are made.

Neither is simply the better choice – the right fit depends on your circumstances. If a single-neutral process sounds closer to what you need, our Austin office includes attorneys certified in divorce mediation who can help you weigh that option.

Why choose Goranson Bain Ausley for your Austin Collaborative Divorce

When you’re choosing a firm or lawyer for Collaborative Divorce, the experience of the attorneys guiding the process matters. Collaborative Divorce requires a different approach than litigation, with an emphasis on negotiation, problem-solving, and helping families reach lasting agreements outside of court. Goranson Bain Ausley attorneys were among those who helped bring Collaborative Divorce to Austin, and today every partner in our Austin office, along with two associates, is trained in Collaborative Law. That means your attorney practices this process regularly – not as an occasional alternative to litigation. 

Lawyer of the Year Honorees in Collaborative Law

Three of our Austin attorneys, Kris Algert, Kelly Ausley-Flores, and Kelly Caperton Fischer, have been named Lawyer of the Year in Collaborative Law by The Best Lawyers in America, a peer-reviewed honor awarded to only one lawyer in a practice area and region each year. That recognition reflects more than professional achievement. It speaks to the judgment, negotiation skill, and collaborative experience clients need when working toward practical, lasting agreements outside of court. 

Backed by the Nation’s Largest Collaborative Divorce Team 

Goranson Bain Ausley has the largest Collaborative Divorce team in the United States.  Many of our attorneys have helped advance the practice of Collaborative Divorce by teaching and speaking throughout Texas and nationally. More importantly, clients benefit from the collective experience and judgment of a team that has helped families resolve a wide range of complex financial and parenting issues through the Collaborative Divorce process. 

Ready for Complexity

Our Austin team has helped build and advance collaborative law in Texas for more than two decades. Since 2009, ten Goranson Bain Ausley attorneys have been named Lawyer of the Year in Collaborative Law by Best Lawyers in America, including eight attorneys from our Austin office. Kris Algert holds the Master Credential in Collaborative Law by Collaborative Divorce Texas, received the Gay G. Cox Award – one of Texas’s highest recognitions for leadership in Collaborative Law, and is a past president of Collaborative Divorce Texas, where she helped mentor attorneys across Texas and beyond. Tom Ausley, a founding partner of the firm, helped bring Collaborative Divorce to Austin more than two decades ago and remains a trusted voice in its growth.

Our Collaborative Divorce team brings experience across the full spectrum of family law matters – from complex property division and business ownership to parenting issues involving mental health, addiction, and customized parenting plans. Whatever challenges your family faces, you’ll benefit from the collective experience of attorneys who have guided clients through similar issues through the collaborative process.

Begin the Process with Confidence

If you’re weighing a Collaborative Divorce in Austin and want a clearer sense of whether it fits your family, the next step is a conversation, not a commitment. Our Austin team can talk through your situation, your options, and the path that protects what matters most to you.