Divorce introduces many stressors into your life. Even when you and your spouse are on the same page about most things, divorce is essentially an adversarial process.
Couples who communicate well and are committed to dissolving their marriage respectfully and amicably could consider a non-adversarial method called collaborative divorce.
A New Canaan collaborative divorce lawyer can explain how this process works and help you decide whether it is right for you. Call today to speak with a skilled divorce attorney.
When couples choose collaborative divorce in New Canaan, each spouse hires a lawyer with special training in the process. The spouses and their attorneys sign a written contract affirming that they wish to dissolve their marriage using collaborative methods and will not bring a divorce action in court.
Collaborative divorce uses a team approach. The couple shares the cost of professionals offering advice and counsel about the issues dividing them. Many couples require advice from a tax professional, business valuation expert, or appraiser when dividing their property. Experts in child development or other disciplines can advise a couple about parental time-sharing arrangements when they have a child with special health or educational needs.
The seasoned family attorneys and experts who participate are all bound by confidentiality. Either party can terminate the collaborative divorce process at any time, but if they do so, each spouse must hire a new lawyer.
None of the experts who participated can provide services to either spouse in a contested divorce. In addition, the information learned during the collaborative divorce process cannot be introduced in the litigated divorce.
Once the couple has committed to the collaborative process, they will have a meeting or series of meetings with their attorneys and relevant consultants or experts. Using the information they acquire together, the couple creates a settlement agreement that addresses the needs of all parties.
Depending on the issues involved, a collaborative divorce might require only a handful of meetings. However, when finances are complicated or difficult to address when deciding on child custody, the process might require regular meetings over weeks or months. Regardless of complexity of the issues, couples committed to ending their marriage collaboratively can create a settlement agreement that works for everyone.
When the collaborative process results in agreement on all outstanding issues, a New Canaan attorney can prepare a formal settlement agreement and submit it to the court with a petition for an uncontested divorce. A judge can issue a final divorce decree within a few weeks.
Sometimes, a couple finds consensus on most of the issues that divide them, but areas of disagreement remain. When the collaborative process is not completely successful, the couple might be able to arrange for an arbitrator to decide the outstanding issues or instead have the court decide. In either scenario, the collaborative process terminates and the parties ultimately obtain their dissolution through a traditionally adversarial format. None of the professionals involved in the collaborative process are permitted to be involved in the adversarial process or forced to testify.
Collaborative divorce can help a couple negotiate the end of their marriage with reduced conflict. Maintaining a respectful relationship is beneficial for the couple, but especially for their children who adjust better to divorce when parents can constructively work together and resolve issues.
Collaborative divorce is cost-effective and efficient, especially for couples with complex finances. When a contested divorce becomes a battle of financial experts, costs increase substantially, and resolving issues can take months or years.
Privacy is another potent benefit of collaborative divorce. All the information revealed during the collaborative divorce process is confidential. New Canaan couples with concerns about security or reputational damage should speak with a lawyer about the benefits of collaborative divorce in their specific circumstances.
Collaborative divorce is a non-adversarial method for ending a marriage cost-effectively, efficiently, and with little to no conflict. It is not appropriate for every couple but works well for many.
Talk to a New Canaan collaborative divorce lawyer if you are committed to settling your divorce out of court. Get started today.
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