When many people think of divorce, they automatically conjure an image of trial divorce. Trial divorce typically involves a lot of acrimonious interaction between lawyers and may even involve ex-spouses who want to “get everything they can” from the other ex-partner.
However, the reality is that there is more than one way to get a divorce. Particularly if you and your ex-partner are parting on relatively neutral terms, you may be able to get away with a less expensive and less contentious variety of divorce. According to Forbes Magazine, going with a collaborative divorce can end up saving money and emotional expenditure.
What is a collaborative divorce?
A collaborative divorce is self-defining: essentially, both parties come together and work on defining the terms of their own divorce. In a typical collaborative divorce both partners will have their own lawyer to help guide everybody through the process, but it is the ex-partners who do most of the talking.
Because collaborative divorce requires far fewer personnel as compared to trial divorce, both parties end up saving a lot of money. Another advantage to collaborative divorce is that both parties have the chance to agree upon the divorce on their own terms, as opposed to having an impartial judge make serious decisions about the future.
What are the downsides?
In order to have a successful collaborative divorce, both parties have to be willing to actually collaborate with each other. In extremely acrimonious divorces, collaborative options are often not possible because both parties cannot speak on equitable terms. A collaborative approach can quickly become a quagmire if both parties cannot agree to compromise on important issues like child support, alimony, and property division.