One of the first questions asked in new divorce consultations is, “What is this going to cost me?”
In addition to the financial cost of a divorce, there are also high emotional costs. The emotional cost will impact the financial cost of a divorce. Going through a divorce can leave you feeling as though your life is being completely turned upside down. When emotions are running high, fear and concern can begin to take over.
Common Divorce Concerns and Worries
- How am I going to survive financially after the divorce?
- How will my lifestyle change?
- What’s this going to look like for me?
Going through a traditionally litigated divorce can be extremely taxing emotionally. The concept of letting a stranger in a black robe (the judge) make decisions for your life and your kids’ lives based on only a small window of time and the limited information that has been presented can be frightening. The judge doesn’t get information about your case beforehand. Only once you walk into the courtroom, does the judge start learning about the case. Litigation cases place more emphasis on the zealous representation of the client, than the family as a whole, especially when considering the post-divorce life of the family. The Collaborative Divorce process can be so appealing in this regard as it provides an environment that fosters and encourages parties to work together in creating the best possible post-divorce life for the entire family.
The Collaborative Divorce process creates an environment where the goal is to create a win-win for the family, not a win-lose or lose-lose.
In a Collaborative Divorce, both parties have control over discussions about their future and the decisions that will be made. Collaborative Divorce allows much more creativity in creating the settlement agreement based on your family’s needs than you have in a traditional litigation divorce. Those concerns and worries are put on the table at the beginning of the collaborative divorce process to ensure that they are addressed.
The Collaborative Divorce process is confidential.
Any concerns can be discussed freely, without fear of it being used against one party in court. Not only is there an open exchange of information, but there is a duty to point out any errors and/or mistakes. This means that mistakes and inaccuracies are addressed throughout the case, thus leading to a smoother process overall.
You have greater control over your divorce than you probably think you do.
You can determine which divorce process you are going to use for your divorce. The Collaborative Divorce process naturally leads to lower emotional costs in a divorce and therefore lower financial costs versus a full-on, adversarial litigation divorce. By choosing Collaborative Divorce, while emotions may still run high, fears of the unknown are lessened. It makes a difficult process more manageable, and gives you the opportunity to create the best possible agreements for a post-divorce life for you your family . You’re choosing a process where your emotions and concerns are considered, and you’re working to create a solution that works for everyone involved.
