Collaborative Divorce

Your Divorce Options

Collaborative Divorce is one of five possible processes a couple can use to reach an acceptable agreement.



Collaborative Divorce

Collaborative Divorce involves a unique and voluntary dispute resolution process that provides families the opportunity to reduce the negative impacts of separation and divorce by working proactively and cooperatively with teams of specially trained Collaborative legal, financial and mental health professionals who educate, support, and guide couples to make their own lasting and respectful resolutions without resorting to litigation or the intervention of judges, magistrates, or court personnel.



DIY

While Do-It-Yourself may appear to be the cheapest approach, in the long run it is often more expensive because the agreements made are not durable and enforceable. What was intended to be an inexpensive and quick resolution to your dispute becomes a drawn out and expensive process to correct the deficiencies. Also, people using the DIY approach may be giving up, or waiving, important legal rights they did not know they had under Maryland law. The Collaborative Approach provides the ability for spouses or participants to communicate directly with each other while also having legal, financial, and emotional support to expedite an effective divorce settlement.



Mediation

Mediation may be an appropriate choice If the issues in the divorce are relatively straightforward, there are few disputes, and the mediator is equippped to supply the necessary support to address the couple’s financial, emotional, and parenting issues. Mediators, though, even lawyer-mediators, cannot provide legal advice, only legal information. Moreover, most mediators are not equipped to handle complex divorce financial issues, child-centered disputes, or difficult personalities. The Collaborative Approach provides legal, financial, and emotional guidance while still allowing you and your spouse to communicate directly.



Attorney Negotiation

An attorney-negotiated settlement can be inefficient, time-consuming, and expensive. You talk to your attorney, who talks to your spouse’s attorney, who talks to your spouse. Much can be lost in translation and can be very slow. The Collaborative Approach allows direct, real-time communication with your spouse which prevents misunderstandings, allows the process to move forward more efficiently, and is less costly.



Litigation

Litigation is widely recognized as the worst way to resolve family disputes. The resolution of a divorce case in litigation can take years of information exchange (“discovery”), hearings, motions, and trial. The Court process is adversarial, dehumanizing, cumbersome, and expensive. Collaborative Divorce is instead cooperative, efficient, and it effectively deals with the issues most important to the couple.

Your Collaborative Divorce Team

The Collaborative Divorce process will, at a minimum, include an attorney for each spouse, a mental health professional or coach, and a financial neutral.