The collaborative-law process will generally still save you money, however, because the parties and the lawyer commit to avoid the court system. In fact, once a family lawyer has signed the Collaborative Law Participation Agreement in a case, he or she cannot represent the client in court if the process breaks down. This gives both the parties and the lawyer an extra incentive to come to an agreement.

Another way in which collaborative law can be more effective than the traditional family-law approach is the focus on interest-based negotiation. Instead of taking hard-and-fast positions, each party instead discusses their interests. For example, instead of saying, "I demand $5,000.00 per month," a party may say, "I will need enough money to cover the regular household expenses, without going back to work until the children are in school full-time." This allows for discussion about the best ways to meet those interests, including brainstorming possible solutions and seeking advice from outside experts when needed. When you use other experts, such as real-estate appraisers or pension valuators, there is generally an agreement to jointly hire that expert, so that the expense is not duplicated. Once an agreement is reached, each party is more likely to feel that it is fair and that it wasn't imposed upon them or agreed to under pressure.

In the long run, avoiding the court system and having an agreement which both parties are following willingly will result in considerable cost savings.