What Is a Collaborative Divorce?

Nobody gets married thinking they will need to get a divorce, but if it comes to that, a collaborative divorce is the way to go.

There are a lot of ways a divorce can go wrong. The parties involved may hate each other, they may fight over petty differences, the process may take an unnecessarily long time, and both sides may come out with an incredible amount of frustration. Fortunately, this is not always how all divorces go. In fact, divorces that are characterized by respect and empathy are so common that they have their own name: Collaborative Divorce. Nobody gets married thinking they will need to get a divorce, but if it comes to that, a collaborative divorce is the way to go.

Mindset

What makes many divorces so negative is the mindset that people bring into them. They are often angry with their spouse and how their marriage dissolved, and the result of the anger is trying to “win” the settlement. In a collaborative divorce, the mindset of both parties is vastly different. Instead of trying to win, they try to collaborate, problem-solve, and come to an agreement that is fair for both people.

Advantages

Many advantages come with collaborative divorce. The most significant of them are listed below.

Save Time – When you have a collaborative mindset, you do not get hung up on petty issues. Instead, you push your ego aside and work disagreements out promptly.

Save Money – The time you are saving is also the time that you need to pay a lawyer for. The quicker a divorce is, the fewer legal fees you will pay.

Smooth Negotiations – Divorce negotiations are often characterized by intense fighting and frustration. When both parties pledge to be fair, these discussions are much more relaxed.

A Fair Deal – The end goal of your divorce is to split your lives up in a fair manner. That includes your finances, assets, and time with children. A collaborative divorce is more likely to give both parties the best deal possible.

The Process

The process of a collaborative divorce is a lot like a regular divorce, except every stage is smoother and friendlier. First, both parties hire a lawyer. Next, they start to negotiate the terms of the divorce point by point. Inevitably, you will come to an area of disagreement. When this happens, both parties remember that they want to be collaborative and adopt that mindset. If they do so effectively, they will be able to compromise on every issue until the negotiations are finished. If done correctly, a collaborative divorce may never have to go to court.

Your divorce does not have to be the kind of nightmare that you see on TV and hear about from friends. Instead, you and your spouse can agree to adopt a collaborative mindset. When you do, you will save time, save money, have a smooth negotiating process, and get a fair deal. Ultimately, combining a collaborative mindset with a skilled St. Louis divorce lawyer eliminates a significant portion of the pain involved in the divorce process, and everyone involved is better for it.

St. Louis Divorce Attorneys At Work

Hundreds of questions come to mind as the stark reality of divorce settles in. As a firm, our goal is to help you find the answers to those questions and to begin the next phase of your life with as much ease as possible. We are dedicated to providing our clients and their families with kind, personalized, and professional legal representation throughout the entire divorce process.

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