Is Collaborative Divorce An Option For You?

5 October 2018
 Categories: , Blog


Divorce is sadly a common situation for many families. To make the process less painful and frustrating, it is helpful to avoid a long divorce held in a traditional divorce court. If you and your spouse can work together, you could opt for a collaborative divorce. The following is some information about collaborative divorce and whether or not it could be an option for you:

What is Collaborative Divorce?

Collaborative divorce involves you and your spouse negotiating the terms of your divorce to come to a mutual agreement. You will each hire a collaborative attorney to ensure the law is properly followed and to make sure everything is as equitable as possible. You, your spouse, and your attorneys will have several meetings until you agree on all aspects of the divorce, including custody, child support, alimony, property settlement, and so on.

Is Court Involved?

You do not go through the court in a collaborative divorce. Most attorneys and clients will sign a no-court agreement before beginning the process. You will only go to court if the two of you are unable to reach a mutual agreement. Your collaborative divorce attorney then has to withdraw from your case, and you have to begin again with new attorneys in court.

If you are able to make a collaborative divorce work, you will have to go through the court system just for a brief moment to make the divorce legal. Your attorneys will make the process very fast without further intervention from the court.

Are There Benefits to Collaborative Divorce?

The best benefit is the fact you and your spouse are making your own terms. If you go before a judge, he or she is going to make the decisions for you with little to no input from you. You also will not subpoena for any information as you will both voluntarily bring your divorce and the necessary information into the collaborative divorce. Another benefit is time and cost. The collaborative divorce is much less expensive than traditional divorce because they take much less time to complete. Your attorney also does not have as many billable hours since you and your spouse are doing the bulk of the work.

A divorce is not an ideal situation, but it has to happen in many cases. A collaborative divorce is a great option as long as you and your spouse can be civil during the process. If you want to explore this option, be sure to contact a family lawyer.


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