Unfortunately, when a couple goes through the divorce process, emotions run high and are often the driving force for running up the costs. Traditional litigation is notorious for taking a long time and being quite expensive. A Collaborative Divorce is less stressful and less costly.
Costs of Traditional Litigation
In traditional litigation, each spouse has their own private attorney. Documents need to be exchanged. If one party is not completely forthcoming and holds back documents, there will be a motions hearing which costs money to pay attorneys to pay for the briefs that need to be filed and for the time they have to spend in court.
Each side will have its own experts, for example, about finances, custody issues, and the value of assets. This means that in addition to paying two attorneys, the spouses pay two accountants, two financial analysts, two child specialists, and so forth.
If the spouses cannot agree, every issue must be decided by the court. This takes time for the attorneys to prepare and the time they spend in court. Time that everyone knows is billed by the hour.
One party is the winner, and one is the loser. If the loser appeals, there is time spent on attorneys who must prepare the appeal. This can cost an incredible amount of money.
It does not have to be that way. If the parties agree to use the Collaborative Divorce process, they will save both money and stress.
Costs of a Collaborative Divorce
In the collaborative process, the spouses still each retain their own attorney. But they agree not to go to court and settle their issues between them. They hire one financial professional, one child specialist, divorce coaches to help them through the process. The reduction in costs for experts alone saves a heap of money.
There is one document filed with the court at the end of the process: their settlement agreement. There is one court hearing at the end of the case.
The spouses make their decisions from a rational basis instead of an emotional one and this certainly saves them money in the long run.
For more information about how the collaborative process works and how you can benefit from it, contact us at Heberger & Company An Accountancy Corporation. You can also call us at 559-227-9772.
