FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

An average divorce can cost between $25,000 and $100,000 (or more), and that’s just for the attorneys’ fees! This estimate doesn’t take into account living expenses, coaches / counselors / therapists, financial advisors, and lost work time. And that’s just the financial costs. Contested divorces often have a high emotional cost for everyone involved, especially children.

Collaborative divorces at Ogborne Law start at $10,000, which includes working with an attorney, mediator, a communication counselor, and Certified Divorce Financial Analyst®.

The length of a divorce is dependent on many factors, primarily the type of divorce you and your spouse choose to pursue. For a simple divorce, the decisions can be made in a matter of hours with just the waiting period for the court to approve paperwork. At the other end of the scale, litigation-based divorces can last months and even years.

In the collaborative divorce process, you as a couple have a team to help you through this life change. That team consists of your individual attorneys, professional counselors, financial advisors who are trained in divorce (a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst®), and an experienced mediator. Everyone is working together—or collaborating—on the topics of assets and your children to create the best outcome for your family. As a team, you’ll work through your concerns as a family, a couple, and as individuals, and you’ll come to conclusions together.

When it comes to ending a relationship, you have three options: mediation, divorce, or collaboration. Mediation is the fastest and best for couples with few assets and no children; litigation is court based and often contentious; collaboration combines the best aspects of mediation and litigation to support couples and families through the process.

Mediation is the fastest and least expensive approach to divorce. Through your work with a mediator, you and your spouse will be able to figure out the details of your separation and file all of your legal paperwork. You will avoid the courtroom through mediation, as the goal is more about developing a workable solution for both parties than creating tension and strife. Mediation is the cornerstone of collaborative divorce because it serves as the process through which conflicts are addressed and the divorcing couple can come to a mutually satisfactory arrangement.

Litigation is the process of going to court to complete a divorce. This is the type of divorce you have seen on court and drama television programs or read about in tabloids. Litigation-based divorces are contentious, slow, and often very expensive. You and your spouse stand on separate sides of the aisle, each with your own legal team, and the only way you speak to each other is through attorneys and proposals, which can take months. Litigation divorces are a last resort for couples that feel there is no way to work together or, in some cases, when the relationship is abusive.

A divorce is a complete dissolution of the marriage. A legal separation involves submitting paperwork to the courts in regards to assets and children but does not dissolve the marriage. The process for both is similar, and some couples choose to legally separate first while others move directly to divorce proceedings.

Parenting time is the actual physical time you spend being a parent to your children. This can include time doing activities or staying home, and it can lasts for a few hours or many days.

Parenting logistics, or a parenting-time plan, is what parents develop to determine who will have the children at what times. There are a variety of options when it comes to parenting logistics, and the right option will depend on your family’s needs and the ages of your children.

Divorces can be tricky, emotional times, so it is best to take the high road and focus on the positives, which usually involve your children. During divorce proceedings, you should avoid taking on new debt, emptying bank accounts, getting pregnant, or making large purchases. For more information, review our article highlighting the things to avoid.