How To Instantly Improve Your Divorce Process How To Instantly Improve Your Divorce Process How To Instantly Improve Your Divorce Process Michele Hart Law

Date: October 15, 2015 | Author: Michele Hart

How To Instantly Improve Your Divorce Process

How To Instantly Improve Your Divorce ProcessWhen some people think about divorce, they conjure up thoughts of a lengthy, hurtful, difficult process—one where both parties are extremely emotional and desperate to start getting on with their lives. These visions make the thought of divorcing difficult to process and even harder to imagine going through.

Fortunately, divorce doesn’t need to be this way. One alternative is collaborative divorce, which  offers the support of skilled professionals centered on achieving your needs, goals, and interests.

Below defines what collaborative divorce is, and how it can be a preferable alternative to the lengthy, costly, contentious litigation process.

What Exactly is Collaborative Divorce?

Collaborative Divorce is a dispute-resolution process that uses a team approach to guide spouses to reach a settlement of issues including custody and parenting time, alimony and child support, and division of assets and debt.

One of the most important aspects of collaborative divorce is the team approach. You and your spouse work together throughout the process, instead of against each other. Throughout the process, you will have access, on an as-needed basis, to the following professionals:

  • A divorce coach, who is a trained, mental-health professional who will help you work through any emotional and communication roadblocks to reaching agreement.
  • A financial advisor and/or accountant, who can assist with identifying post-divorce expenses, any business valuations, and cash-flow analyses to identify which terms in your agreement are likely to meet your needs and goals after the divorce.
  • A child specialist, if necessary, who can help to ensure that the children’s interests are thoughtfully considered throughout the process.

It’s important to note that the collaborative divorce process is founded on the commitment by both spouses to avoiding litigation. If, during the collaborative divorce process, either party changes their mind and decides to litigate, the hallmark of the strict collaborative divorce approach is that both collaborative lawyers and team members must withdraw and the parties need to hire new lawyers to represent each of them in the ensuing litigation. There is the option, however, of modifying this traditional collaborative divorce component to meet your needs and level of comfort. Therefore, it is very important that all options be reviewed with your lawyer before starting the divorce process.

How Does Collaborative Divorce Improve the Process?

Collaborative divorce might sound like a bit of work, and it is. Sitting down and coming to a civil resolution isn’t easy, but support is readily available and the benefits are worth it. First, the fees are likely to be much less than in the divorce litigation process. Since both spouses are working in a collaborative environment with common goals of settlement outside of court, the time and money spent are substantially lower than a litigated court battle.

It’s common to become emotionally charged during the divorce process, which tends to increase the fees incurred. The collaborative divorce process helps to manage the emotions of both spouses, however, which then tends to minimize fees while leading to productive resolution.

How Do I Make Collaborative Divorce Work For Me?

Collaborative divorce clearly has many benefits, but it isn’t for everyone. In order for the collaborative divorce process to be successful, both spouses should be reasonable and willing to negotiate until a resolution is made.

This means that both spouses should be willing to share the marital income, assets, and debts.  Collaborative divorce isn’t about making sure one particular spouse “wins” in the divorce (as there’s no such thing)—it’s about making sure that the needs and goals of both spouses are met, which in turn leaves your children as “the winners.”

Collaborative divorce ebook

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