Who Makes the Decisions in a Collaborative Divorce?
The parties are directly involved in the process and retain control over the outcome. Everyone communicates and negotiates directly with one another in a structured, organized setting.
After signing a written participation agreement, several other steps are included in a Collaborative Divorce. A number of conferences are held to freely disclose all pertinent information and documentation, discuss all the issues, and to identify the need to use other experts, such as mediators, financial planners, and therapists. The experts are mutually agreed upon, so the spouses don’t have to be concerned that the expert is going to pump up information for the benefit of just one of them. The location of the conferences rotate between the attorney’s offices so neither spouse feels at a disadvantage.
The open communication is one of the main reasons this model has been successful. It allows the divorcing spouses to be heard about the issues most important to them, and it provides them an opportunity to propose workable solutions. The process is completely confidential, and it is able to help divorcing spouses to reach a settlement with a significant savings in time and expense. Furthermore, it is less stressful on the children, who typically become innocent victims of the divorce process.
Attorneys who handle Collaborative Divorce cases have been specifically trained in this model. The attorneys learn how to educate their clients, how to organize the conferences, and how to manage their cases in a collaborative, rather than litigious, way.
After signing a written participation agreement, several other steps are included in a Collaborative Divorce. A number of conferences are held to freely disclose all pertinent information and documentation, discuss all the issues, and to identify the need to use other experts, such as mediators, financial planners, and therapists. The experts are mutually agreed upon, so the spouses don’t have to be concerned that the expert is going to pump up information for the benefit of just one of them. The location of the conferences rotate between the attorney’s offices so neither spouse feels at a disadvantage.
The open communication is one of the main reasons this model has been successful. It allows the divorcing spouses to be heard about the issues most important to them, and it provides them an opportunity to propose workable solutions. The process is completely confidential, and it is able to help divorcing spouses to reach a settlement with a significant savings in time and expense. Furthermore, it is less stressful on the children, who typically become innocent victims of the divorce process.
Attorneys who handle Collaborative Divorce cases have been specifically trained in this model. The attorneys learn how to educate their clients, how to organize the conferences, and how to manage their cases in a collaborative, rather than litigious, way.