A new spin on the divorce process may be able to save separating couples thousands of dollars, according to a recent report. People call it collaborative divorce, and it involves focusing on an amicable, negotiated divorce, rather than using the court system. In fact, in some collaborative divorce situations, divorcing spouses can even sign a contract stating that the lawyers who represent them in the collaborative divorce cannot represent them if the negotiations break down and go to trial. This can help spouses work together to find common ground and solutions that they can both live with, rather than having to start over from scratch with new lawyers in the court system. Of course, as with many things, this strategy can work better for some types of people than others.
Parties Who Can Benefit from Collaborative Divorce
The people who can most benefit from a collaborative divorce process are those that can still have a civil relationship. This type of divorce involves working together without the benefit of a judicial referee. Consequently, spouses need to be able to sit down at a table together and speak rationally enough to come to an agreement. Though, this requirement should not necessarily scare off people who are worried they would not be able to do it.
Collaborative divorce involves more than just the couple sitting down alone. They will also have their lawyers present to help keep them focused and on task. Some collaborative divorces can even involve other sorts of counselors who can help the couple work together to build a divorce solution that they can both be comfortable with, rather than relying on a judge to ultimately decide what is best for the two of them.
Parties Who May Want to Use Traditional Divorce
However, not all couples will be able to take full advantage of the collaborative divorce framework. Some spousal relationships are just too far gone for people to comfortably sit down together and talk things out. This is completely understandable given the emotionally-charged nature of many divorces, and those couples may be better served by using the ordinary legal system.
The other set of spouses who may be better off with traditional divorce are those whose relationships have imbalanced power dynamics. There are some marriages where one member is particularly averse to conflict or is unwilling to stand up to the other spouse. In those cases, collaborative divorce may allow the more dominant partner to get the better of the other one, rather than actually producing an outcome that the pair of them could both be happy with.
People considering filing for divorce have a variety of different options available to them. If you are thinking about divorce and want to learn more about the process, contact an experienced Naperville divorce lawyer today for more information.