Michigan Laws 691.1335 – Beginning and concluding collaborative law process
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Terms Used In Michigan Laws 691.1335
- Collaborative law participation agreement: means an agreement by persons to participate in a collaborative law process. See Michigan Laws 691.1332
- Collaborative law process: means a procedure intended to resolve a collaborative matter without intervention by a tribunal in which persons sign a collaborative law participation agreement and are represented by collaborative lawyers. See Michigan Laws 691.1332
- Collaborative lawyer: means a lawyer who represents a party in a collaborative law process. See Michigan Laws 691.1332
- Collaborative matter: means a dispute, transaction, claim, problem, or issue for resolution, including a dispute, claim, or issue in a proceeding, that is described in a collaborative law participation agreement and arises under the family or domestic relations law of this state, including any of the following:
(i) Marriage, divorce, dissolution, annulment, and property distribution. See Michigan Laws 691.1332Party: means a person that signs a collaborative law participation agreement and whose consent is necessary to resolve a collaborative matter. See Michigan Laws 691.1332 Proceeding: means any of the following:
(i) A judicial, administrative, arbitral, or other adjudicative process before a tribunal, including related prehearing and posthearing motions, conferences, and discovery. See Michigan Laws 691.1332Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form. See Michigan Laws 691.1332 Related to a collaborative matter: means involving the same parties, transaction or occurrence, nucleus of operative fact, dispute, claim, or issue as the collaborative matter. See Michigan Laws 691.1332 Sign: means , with present intent to authenticate or adopt a record, either of the following:
(i) To execute or adopt a tangible symbol. See Michigan Laws 691.1332Tribunal: means any of the following:
(i) A court, arbitrator, administrative agency, or other body acting in an adjudicative capacity that, after presentation of evidence or legal argument, has jurisdiction to render a decision affecting a party's interests in a matter. See Michigan Laws 691.1332
(1) A collaborative law process begins when the parties sign a collaborative law participation agreement.
(2) A tribunal may not order a party to participate in a collaborative law process over that party’s objection.
(3) A collaborative law process is concluded by 1 of the following:
(a) Resolution of a collaborative matter as evidenced by a signed record.
(b) Resolution of a part of the collaborative matter, evidenced by a signed record, in which the parties agree that the remaining parts of the matter will not be resolved in the process.
(c) Termination of the process.
(4) A collaborative law process terminates when any of the following occur:
(a) A party gives notice to other parties in a record that the process is ended.
(b) A party does any of the following:
(i) Begins a proceeding related to a collaborative matter without the agreement of all parties.
(ii) In a pending proceeding related to the matter, does any of the following:
(A) Initiates a pleading, motion, order to show cause, or request for a conference with the tribunal.
(B) Requests that the proceeding be put on the tribunal’s active calendar.
(C) Takes similar action requiring notice to be sent to the parties.
(c) Except as otherwise provided by subsection (7), a party discharges a collaborative lawyer or a collaborative lawyer withdraws from further representation of a party.
(5) A party’s collaborative lawyer shall give prompt notice to all other parties in a record of a discharge or withdrawal.
(6) A party may terminate a collaborative law process with or without cause.
(7) Notwithstanding the discharge or withdrawal of a collaborative lawyer, a collaborative law process continues if, not later than 30 days after the date that the notice of the discharge or withdrawal of a collaborative lawyer required by subsection (5) is sent to the parties, both of the following occur:
(a) The unrepresented party engages a successor collaborative lawyer.
(b) A record is signed that satisfies all of the following requirements:
(i) The parties consent in the record to continue the process by reaffirming the collaborative law participation agreement.
(ii) The agreement is amended in the record to identify the successor collaborative lawyer.
(iii) The successor collaborative lawyer confirms in the record the lawyer’s representation of a party in the collaborative process.
(8) A collaborative law process does not conclude if, with the consent of the parties, a party requests a tribunal to approve a resolution of the collaborative matter or any part of the matter as evidenced by a signed record.
(9) A collaborative law participation agreement may provide additional methods of concluding a collaborative law process.