Collaborative law divorce is a good alternative to a litigated divorce for divorcing couples who are looking to save time, money and acrimony in their divorce. It is helpful for couples considering their options once they have made the decision to divorce to understand how collaborative law works and the benefits of collaborative law divorce.
How collaborative law works
The collaborative law process begins with an agreement, and a commitment, between the divorcing spouses to the collaborative law process. The divorcing spouses sign a collaborative law divorce agreement that specifies that both of their representatives with withdraw if they decide to litigate the divorce.
The collaborative law divorce process focuses on open communication, honest exchange of information and fair results that both parties can live with. The focus is on achieving collaborative outcomes rather than hashing out each divorce-related concern in court. This is important because going to court is generally more costly, often more time consuming and generally creates greater animosity between the divorcing spouses. This animosity can carry over into their lives after the divorce, and can be particularly damaging in cases where the parties have young children and will have to continue to work with each other on parenting issues.
Some of the potential benefits of the collaborative divorce process include cost savings; time savings; and that is takes place in a more information setting. It creates less of a public record than court proceedings and can be more private. It can also create a process for the couple to resolve concerns that might come up after they are divorce.
One of possibly the greatest benefits of collaborative law divorce is that it allows the divorcing couple to create a divorce settlement that is decided by them and best for them rather than having the divorce court make those decisions for them. Though collaborative law divorce may not be for everyone, it has many possible benefits for divorcing couples to be familiar with and consider for their divorce.