5 Reasons Why Collaborative Divorce is the New Movement

Screaming arguments in the lawyer’s office. Angry parents fighting over the children, putting the poor kids in the middle. Fighting over the family assets.

Financial destruction, emotional devastation, and enormous legal bills.

These have long been the images of divorce but there’s a new movement that seeks to change this – it’s called collaborative divorce.

What is collaborative divorce?

In short, collaborative divorce is a process where both parties work together with a team of professionals (typically financial, emotional, and legal) whose job it is to help them come to a mutually satisfactory solution to the end of the marriage.

But what does this really mean for you?

Let’s explore 5 reasons why more people are rejecting traditional divorce and looking to collaborative divorce.

#1 – The Kids Come First

The sad reality is that during divorce, the kids are the ones that are impacted the most when it comes to the end of your marriage.

Kids of all ages look at the world through their own viewpoint and believe, right or wrong, that things that happen in their lives are a consequence of their behavior or their decisions – even if there’s no way this can be true.

When couples pursue a collaborative divorce approach, one of the key focuses is to make sure the emotional needs of the children are met first. This often means involving professional counselors right from the beginning, working with the whole family.

This process not only lets the kids find safe ways to address their feelings about the divorce, it also helps both parents understand what the kids are dealing with and how to support them.

#2 – Parenting Planning Done Together

No matter how much money may be at stake during a divorce, the responsibility for the kids is one of the most hotly contested and emotional issues that a couple can deal with during the divorce process.

Collaborative divorces focus on addressing the underlying concerns and goals of each parent to help put together a parenting plan that both parents can appreciate.

The collaborative divorce process recognizes that the most critical part of the parenting plan is making sure both parties can live with it long after the agreement is finalized. It’s the only way to protect everyone’s rights.

#3 – Financially Fair

When it comes to handling the separation of assets during a traditional divorce, it can get messy quickly.

Collaborative divorce involves both parties coming to the table with an honest accounting of the assets and an understanding of what they truly want going forward.

Through clear communication, often aided by a mediator, both parties are able to come to a financial settlement that is fair for both sides and allows each to feel good about the outcome.

#4 – Your Business Stays Your Business

Divorce can be a messy thing. It can spill into your daily life when dealing with the drama or into the public arena when litigation becomes a matter of public record.

With a focus on mediation and working together, collaborative divorce reduces the drama and keeps the majority of the legal details out of sight, making it an easier way to handle a difficult process.

#5 – Ending a Marriage, Saving a Family

Collaborative divorces create a foundation where the divorcing couple can still maintain a cordial relationship with each other over the long term, an important factor when there are children involved.

Long after the marriage has ended, the divorcing couple will continue to find themselves involved in each other’s lives, as their kids get older and achieve important milestones in their own lives.