Divorce is a complicated process because while it is a legal process it is also an emotional process, and it is a financial process. One of the main benefits of Collaborative Divorce is that it involves a team approach – a team of professionals to guide you through the legal, emotional, and financial aspects of your divorce.
Collaborative Divorce – Emotional Benefits
For most people divorce is one of the most stressful events you will go through in your life. You may not be thinking very clearly, because your brain can be in a fog. Your attorney is not trained to help you with that emotional fog. This is where the mental health professionals – the divorce coaches on your Collaborative team – are trained to help you so you can make well informed decisions.
Collaborative Divorce – Financial Expertise Benefits
Many people do not understand their finances as they enter the divorce process. The financial neutral is an important team member because they help explain the financial numbers, create financial options, and help the couple to avoid fighting over the numbers and leaving it up to a judge to settle the fight. It is also more efficient to have one financial neutral explain the financial situation than to have two competing forensic accountants argue about the numbers which will cost twice as much money.
Collaborative Divorce – Benefits for the Children
There is also a child specialist on the Collaborative Divorce Team who can help parents reach an agreement on raising their children. Many well-meaning parents put their children in the middle of their divorce conflict. The child specialist helps the parents see how their actions during the divorce can impact their children. The child specialist helps the parents manage their divorce distress and minimize the impact on their children. High conflict couples who cannot communicate anymore because of the emotions especially benefit from having a child specialist help them understand what is in the best interest of their children and make agreements accordingly.
Do All of These Team Members Make the Cost of the Divorce Go Up?
The Collaborative Divorce team approach will probably cost half as much as a Litigated Divorce. In a CollaborativeDivorce, you are using a team of professionals to the best of their ability and expertise to help you settle the case. Litigation costs are out of your control and can ramp up quickly. You are on a runaway train and the costs start mounting quickly due to the level of conflict, the number of forensic accountants and other experts that are brought in, and whether a judge wants to appoint a child custody evaluator – these all increase the costs of the divorce and can cause lengthy delays.
The Collaborative Divorce team approach looks forward whereas in litigation, often the focus is on what happened in the past. We cannot change the past. It is good to understand the past and take it into consideration, but there is a family in crisis. The Collaborative Team of professionals help the family through this crisis of divorce and look forward to what is best for the family. The focus of a Collaborative Divorce is on the future, not arguing about the past.
The Collaborative Divorce team approach is going to save the couple time, money, and provide a better overall outcome.
