Almost every couple enters into a marriage with prospects of a bright and promising future. No one ever thinks of ending the marriage, at least not in those cheerful and sunny days after the wedding.
Unfortunately, divorces do happen at a much higher rate than we think. Unlike entering into marriage, they include strong emotions such as anger, fear, and resentment.
In some cases, due to a history of domestic violence, substance abuse, or lack of communication between the spouses, going to court litigation often seems like the only way to end the marriage that caused so much pain and suffering to both spouses and their families. In a traditional divorce, the judge decides on the most crucial issues related to divorce, such as child custody, marital property, family debts, etc.
On the other hand, spouses who are willing to resolve the essential divorce-related issues in a friendly manner should consider a collaborative divorce process instead of going to court.
At the beginning of the collaborative divorce procedure, both spouses must agree to settle all matters outside the court by signing a formal participation agreement.
A collaborative divorce is a legal process in which each spouse retains a collaborative attorney to help them reach an agreement and avoid a bad outcome in court. Most people see it as a combination of traditional litigation and divorce mediation.
However, although it involves attorneys, a collaborative divorce is never an adversarial process. The key to collaborative divorce is communication and cooperation. On the other hand, unlike mediation, it doesn’t include a third neutral person that facilitates the negotiations. The spouses, with the help of their attorneys, are sole participants in the talks.
A collaborative divorce offers various benefits over traditional court divorce procedures.
First of all, it is time and cost-effective. Going through a court divorce often takes months and drains spouses both financially and emotionally. Contrarily, collaborative divorce is an effective non-adversarial process that is typically over in a matter of days. In addition, it cost incomparably less.
Secondly, whatever spouses say during collaborative divorce negotiations stays private. Contrary to litigated cases, every part of the collaborative process is confidential, and spouses don’t have to air their dirty laundry like in court divorce procedures.
Furthermore, in a collaborative divorce, the spouses can predict and determine the outcome of their negotiations. There is no settlement without the consent of both parties. In court litigation, however, the spouses are often faced with the result they might not like.
Additionally, unlike rigid traditional litigation procedures, collaborative divorce negotiations usually occur in an informal and relaxed setting. That helps both spouses to communicate better and enables the free flow of information.
Finally, by its very name, a collaborative divorce process is an experience focused on open communication. Sometimes this process can involve a team of trained experts helping spouses resolve the most crucial divorce issues in a peaceful and non-contentious manner.
In conclusion, a collaborative divorce procedure with its numerous benefits helps those spouses who are willing to talk in avoiding stressful and unpredictable outcomes of draining court litigation. It enables children to avoid an adversarial process which often puts their parents in a bad light. Besides, former spouses that went through a collaborative divorce can have better co-parenting relationships. No court litigation can achieve this.
Consider Retaining a Collaborative Divorce Attorney
Divorce is a difficult process for everyone involved. If you and your spouse have been fighting, it may not be the right decision to try collaborative divorce because there could still potentially be issues with communicating or any history of domestic violence between both parties in addition if one person has all rights by law while another does not. In this ca
