Have You Considered a Collaborative Divorce?
If you and your spouse want to avoid all the stress that can come with a contentious divorce, your chances are very good. Cooperative spouses can and do manage to divorce with as little fuss and disagreement as possible every day. You may wonder if you need a lawyer when you and your spouse agree on almost all issues. You always need to protect your own interests when dealing with legal matters like divorce but you might want to look into finding a lawyer that practices what is known as collaborative divorce. Read on and learn more.
What Do Couples Disagree About?
All relationships and divorces are unique but any of the below can make things more contentious when the couple disagrees:
- Children: Who gets custody, the visitation schedule, who pays child support and the amount owed, etc?
- Property: Who is entitled to martial property like the home, vehicles, and more?
- Debt: Who is responsible for paying marital debts like credit card and medical debts?
- Spousal support or alimony: Who is entitled to it, who pays it, and how much should it be?
What Is Collaborative Divorce?
Some divorce lawyers take a more peaceful stance on divorce and practice collaborative divorce. That usually means they strive to work with the other spouse's collaborative divorce lawyer to work things out and keep the issues out of the hands of the family court judge. The hallmark of a collaborative divorce is honest disclosure. While all divorces call for a full disclosure of financial information from both parties, a collaborative divorce is fully dependent on each spouse cooperating and compromising with divorce issues. Most divorcing couples will know whether or not they can trust their spouse enough to produce information about every asset and debt.
What Makes Collaborative Divorce Less Expensive?
A lot of the legal costs attached to the divorce process happen when attorneys have to spend time with hearings and subpoenas to force the parties to comply with financial information requests. Also, the time before the judge almost always means money. When the parties disclose all, the process can also be considerably shorter.
When Things Don't Work Out
Unfortunately, collaborative divorce is not for everyone and some couples don't realize what they are getting into until it's too late. Once you begin the collaborative divorce process, you should try to stick with the plan and see things through. It's always cheaper to work things out without involving the court system. If you decide that the collaborative process is not working out, things may get more complex. In most cases, both parties will have to hire new divorce lawyers since collaborative divorce lawyers don't usually litigate cases in court.
Talk to a divorce attorney about your situation today to learn more about your legal options.