Kate van Dyke, M.A., PCC

for Family Transitions

"Kate was skillful in helping us identify and understand the content of what we wanted in a Collaborative Prenup, was knowledgeable so we had a preselected short list of professionals who would be right for us and was a terrific manager so we were able to sign it in plenty of time."

Client demand for accurate annulment information led to meetings with a Chicago Archdiocese canonical lawyer and its Family Ministries Directors. Realizing that another way to reduce the pain and negative impact of divorce was to work with couples before they married, Kate earned certificates in Marriage Links, PICK a Partner, and FOCCUS (Facilitating Open Couples Communication and Study) and started working as a consultant to the Chicago Archdiocese Pre-Cana programs

At the same time, Kate learned about Collaborative Divorce, a process that uses specially trained lawyers, divorce coaches, child and financial specialists to help couples reach out-of-court agreements, with privacy and respect. Formal training in Collaborative Practice, mediation, and coaching followed, as well as becoming a Fellow of The Collaborative Law Institute of Illinois, a Mediation Council of Illinois member and a Professional Certified Coach of the International Coach Federation.

Following one of her many presentations at law schools, bar and financial associations, and investment advisory firms, a wealth management professional approached Kate about using the Collaborative Process to create a prenup for a client and his fiancé and managing the project so it would be signed before another family wedding. While he believed it was his fiduciary responsibility to advise his client to have a prenup, he feared using the traditional process might blow things up and drag the process out so that it would get signed under pressure at the last minute. With Kate managing the process and facilitating the discussions, the Collaborative Prenup was signed on time. Since then, Kate has leveraged the unique benefits of having her work with divorcing couples inform her work with engaged couples so they may be thoughtful, thorough and better prepared for a successful marriage.

A member of Kate's business networking group asked about coaching her husband and her in their estate planning and final wishes. They had started the project several times previously and never finished it. Kate coached them to complete both their bequests and final arrangements and referred them to lawyers appropriate for their needs. Since then, Kate has also worked with adult children to coach them about transition their parents to assisted living facilities as well as elder care issues.