Collaborative Divorce

Video Transcript

Speaker: Stephanie Brinkley

Hey everyone. It's Stephanie Brinkley. Today, I want to talk to you about collaborative divorce. Collaborative divorce is a great way for individuals to control the future of their divorce action outside of a courtroom. It's a private method where you meet with your spouse, soon to be ex spouse, and the attorneys together through a series of meetings. And you come up with a positive plan. There are many benefits to collaborative divorce. Let's cover some of them today.

First and foremost, fees. That is one of the most important questions I am asked in a divorce action is how much is it going to cost me? The great thing about collaborative divorce is you and your spouse agree to use an attorney who is trained in collaborative law, and the fees are fixed. Each side pays an equal amount in fees. It's not going to go up or down. And you both agree in the beginning that it's a marital debt to be equally divided. This levels the playing field between the two of you and you don't have a war going between you as to who has spent the most on their attorney.

The second benefit of a collaborative divorce is that you're coming together and you're working together. You're working with your spouse and with the attorneys to come up with a resolution that's not only fair to the parties, but also to your family. Your children are your most important assets. So this is very important. And to do that, we're going to have some ground rules. Rule number one, we will treat each other with civility and with respect. And secondly, there would be full disclosure of financial information and other relevant pieces of information that are necessary to fully evaluate the marital estate and then divide it accordingly.

The next benefit to collaborative divorce is it is truly a team approach. Not only are you working with your spouse and their attorneys, you may have some professionals brought in to help you out. You might have a neutral financial person. You might have a co-parenting coach. You might have a child specialist, but all these professionals will come together with you through the series of meetings to help fully develop that final plan that benefits everyone. And even better than that, you can go at your own pace because there's no litigation that's running parallel to these meetings and you don't have the external pressures of a hearing or discovery deadlines. If this process takes you one month, three months, six months, if it takes you a year, that is completely fine. You go at your own pace.

And then finally, when you come to that resolution, the parties will come together through their attorneys and develop a full and final agreement. This agreement can then be filed with the court and the court can give it its blessing. And you're done. You have been empowered throughout the process. You've dissolved a marriage, but you've preserved your dignity. You've maintained some control in everything that's happening around you and to your children. If you would also like to learn how to divorce with dignity and learn a little more about the collaborative process, and if it's right for you and your spouse, call our office or go onto our website and request a confidential consultation. We'll talk about all your options and empower you.