When you and your spouse have decided to divorce but hope to keep the process as non-confrontational as possible, explore collaborative divorce. A collaborative divorce focuses on solving problems rather than one side winning.
Couples with complicated finances, child(ren) with special needs, or other issues may not be able to reach an agreement without help. Working with an experienced divorce attorney allows you to get the benefit of expert help on the issues you must resolve and work cooperatively with your spouse to reach workable and fair agreements.
Speak with a Troy collaborative divorce lawyer when you and your spouse have issues you need help resolving but want to avoid a fight. The collaborative divorce process is usually quicker, less expensive, and less traumatic than contesting a divorce in court.
When a couple divorces the traditional way, each side hires professionals to support their position. Besides lawyers, many divorce proceedings require opinions from accountants, business or professional practice valuation experts, social workers, healthcare providers, and special education professionals, depending on the issues in dispute.
When a couple chooses a collaborative divorce in Troy, each spouse chooses a lawyer trained in collaborative divorce to represent them. Each lawyer charges the same fee, so the spouse with access to more funds does not have the advantage. The couple chooses other experts professionals also trained in collaborative divorce to join the team and shares their services. They provide their expertise and offer solutions the couple can discuss, adapt, or adopt.
The needs of the couple determine the profession of the advisors. For example, a couple with a severely disabled child might need a healthcare professional and an education specialist on their team, while a childless couple would not. The team meets at the couple’s convenience, usually several times, and together they craft a set of workable agreements that will govern the spouses’ divorce.
Collaborative divorce resembles mediation in that the spouses negotiate to reach an agreement on all relevant issues. However, it differs in several important ways.
Each spouse has an attorney protecting their interests in a collaborative divorce, unlike mediation, which is conducted by a neutral third party. A couple shares experts in a collaborative divorce, so they base decisions on the same information, instead of relying on diverging opinions from each side’s expert.
Although mediation is technically voluntary, sometimes couples are ordered to attend. Collaborative divorce is voluntary in every sense. Both spouses must be committed to transparency, cooperation, and resolving differences without rancor.
A collaborative divorce in Troy ensures that spouses work together to dismantle the life they made as a couple and replace it with lives that will work for each of them as single people. The collaborative divorce process supports both spouses as they move forward, in contrast to the divorce litigation process that forces spouses to take sides against the other.
The collaborative process greatly diminishes the stress of divorce. The experience gives each spouse a chance to learn to work together toward a common goal: a peaceful and fair divorce. Parents may find collaborative divorce has tremendous benefits. There is less tension and the parents work cooperatively for the sake of their child(ren).
When an attempt at collaborative divorce fails, the spouses’ collaborative divorce lawyers withdraw, and the spouses must each find new representation. In the collaborative process, nobody has an incentive to sabotage the negotiations.
Divorce can be complicated, but it does not have to be traumatic. The collaborative divorce process is designed to help a couple peacefully and respectfully craft workable solutions to complex issues.
Schedule a complimentary consultation with a Troy collaborative divorce lawyer from our firm today. They will explain the process and help you determine whether collaborative divorce is right for you.
Colwell Law
N/a
(518) 462-4242
200 Great Oaks Blvd