The divorce process can take a major emotional and financial toll on the whole family. However, the collaborative divorce process can be helpful for addressing divorce issues with as little conflict as possible. These divorce issues in Pennsylvania range from property division to spousal support.
With the collaborative divorce process, most of the divorce process can take place outside of court. This means both spouses can work on resolving their differences while still maintaining their privacy and dignity. When embarking on this process, both parties must sign an agreement acknowledging that they agree not to litigate their issues in court. Instead, they are willing to resolve their disputes through negotiation.
Couples of high net worth who have considerable estates can especially benefit from collaborative divorce. During this process, professionals such as financial experts and counselors can play a major role in helping the couple to address parenting plans, tax issues, complicated asset distribution and asset valuations. The spouses may ultimately be able to reach a settlement that represents both of their needs as well as their children’s best interests.
If the spouses simply cannot make collaborative divorce work for them, they may have no choice but to go to trial. However, traditional divorce litigation can be costly and time consuming, and it can lead to agitation and anger, thus having a negative impact on the family members’ relationships long term. In addition, a judge will end up determining how the couple’s areas of conflict, such as property division, will be handled, and the outcome may not necessarily be what one or both parties in Pennsylvania would have wanted.
Source: theday.com, “A collaborative approach to divorce“, Linda L. Mariani, Oct. 29, 2017