Collaborative Divorce
Testimonial: The collaborative divorce process enabled us to keep the children at the center of the discussions and to reach a fair agreement without involving courtroom proceedings or dragging each other through the mud. Diana helped me consistently think about what was in the children's best interest, and how decisions would affect them. Divorce is hard on everyone, but Diana, in effectively representing me in the process of collaborative divorce, helped keep the focus where it needed to be, and the discussions as objective as possible. Mary of Madison, CT
Collaborative Divorce provides divorcing couples with an alternative to litigation (court trial). Each spouse is represented by an attorney, and the spouses and the attorneys agree to cooperate with each other in a respectful way to draft a divorce agreement. On the appointed day, the divorce agreement is presented to the court. The process recognizes that children benefit if their divorced parents can communicate with each other and can cooperate in the continuing process of parenting. Even when there are no children, collaborative divorce helps to protect each party by avoiding a possible protracted and hostile litigation battle.
The Collaborative Team: Divorce is not an easy process, and emotions do run strong. A couple may hit a snag in the negotiations due to a failure to communicate through feelings of anger or grief. When the wheels of negotiation begin to spin, spouses can turn to divorce coaches as part of the collaborative process. The coaches' role is to provide insight to help the couple break through their communication impasse so that negotiations can continue efficiently.
The collaborative divorce team also includes a financial specialist who assists with the financial documentation and advises the couple about the future impact of their property distribution plan. The team can also include a child specialist who may be called on to help with children's issues.
Divorce Mediation also provides couples with an alternative to litigation (court trial). In a mediated divorce, the mediator represents neither party, and will normally advise each to seek an opinion from a reviewing attorney either during or after the settlement negotiations are complete. The mediator is trained to help couples to cooperate with each other in a respectful way to draft a divorce agreement.
The goal of both collaborative divorce and divorce mediation is a divorce settlement that can be presented to the court for approval. The areas that must be decided by the spouses are: (1) a parenting plan (when will each parent care for the child/children; where will the children live and go to school?) (2) child support (based upon state guidelines); (3) a division of real property and other assets; and (4) whether there will be alimony, and, if so, how much. The court, in deciding whether to approve the divorce settlement as it pertains to children will base its decision on what is in the best interests of the child. When deciding property division and alimony, the court will base its decision on what is equitable in light of a number of factors as provided by statutes.
For more information about collaborative divorce, please see the following websites: Divorce Solutions of Connecticut and The International Association of Collaborative Professionals.
