In the 21st century, adults seeking to end their marriage have a variety of options and paths to do so, many of which do not require a court visit or long battle.
In Collaborative Divorce , both parties agree to a more harmonious path to ending their marriage. There is no Defendant or Plaintiff, but rather a team of professionals who are united in their mission: to end the marriage without going to court.
Photo by Tingey Injury Law Firm on Unsplash
Each spouse hires a Collaboratively-trained attorney to represent them, and the attorneys build a Collaborative Team consisting of a neutral Divorce Facilitator and a neutral Financial Professional who is a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst. Others may be added to the team if needed, such as a Child Specialist in cases where custody issues are in dispute because of unique challenges with the children. All of these professionals work together in this specially trained way of ending a marriage. This approach leads the parties to:
- Negotiate a mutually agreeable resolution without having to turn over power to the courts to decide what comes next
- Maintain open and respectful communication and a reasonable sharing of information
- Create shared solutions acknowledging the shared priorities of the family
Our role in Collaborative Divorce is to help parties navigate the often-challenging emotions that can arise during a divorce. Often, what makes divorce and post-divorce family life difficult is that people have a hard time managing emotions and channeling them in a healthy way. Much of this difficulty stems from unresolved childhood traumas.
Are you ready to get started?
Contact Form
Some benefits of Collaborative Divorce include…
Privacy: While details of divorce proceedings are publicly available, in Collaborative Divorce, no information is released. This protects your entire family’s privacy.
Control: Collaborative Divorce gives control to divorcing spouses, whose shared priority is their family’s long-term health.
Forward-Thinking: Collaborative Divorce is a great way to build a positive Co-Parenting relationship post-divorce.
Lower Costs + Efficiency: Not all pieces of the process require input from the entire team. I work directly with parents when creating Parenting Time Agreements for minor children, rather than including attorneys, which reduces costs.
ARE YOU COMMITTED TO REDUCING THE TIME, FINANCIAL AND EMOTIONAL COSTS OF GOING TO COURT?
If so, Collaborative Divorce may be for YOU!
Jordana Wolfson is the Past President of the Collaborative Practice Institute of Michigan.